Shattered Innocence
by Emerald1
Summary: When McGee finds it necessary to protect his sister from people he though were his friends, the consequences are far reaching. Can the NCIS family survive? Chapter 20 - Gibbs VS McGee, Sr.
1. Chapter 1

**a/n - An angsty story touching on a difficult subject. This is being written for the "They Said What?" Challenge where a misunderstanding causes problems. You'll find plenty of misunderstands here and a lot of hurt. Remember, that in my stories there's always an eventually. **

Shattered Innocence

Prologue

Emergency rooms were busy, no matter the time of day or night. Timothy McGee pushed his way through the crowds, using his badge to get the nurse's attention. "Sarah McGee, where is she?"

The nurse pointed down one of the corridors. "Room twelve, the detectives are with her." Tim recognized the Metro detective standing outside the examination room. They had worked together on a assault case last year. He didn't even register his feet moving.

"Detective Jeffries?"

"Agent McGee," he held his hand out. "It's good to see you again. I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"How is she?"

"She's alive, that's the most important thing. My partner's in there with her. Your sister was able to give a statement and a detailed description of her attacker." Jeffries gave him an encouraging smile. "She seems like a tough little lady, she'll get through this."

Not trusting his voice, Tim nodded in response. A nurse came out and handed Jeffries an evidence box, driving home what had happened to his baby sister. "Where's Abby?"

"Abby?"

"Abby Sciuto. She was at the club with my sister, she was Sarah's ride home." McGee started to get worried. "Did something happen to her, too?"

"We didn't have any reports of a missing person and no one else was attacked." Jeffries started looking through his notes. "Can you give me a description of Miss Sciuto?" He frowned as Tim described his friend. "Do you know where Miss Sciuto was last Friday evening?"

Tim didn't like the question or the tone. "I think she went to a concert right after work that night. What does that have to do with what happened to my sister tonight?"

"What was the name of the band that was performing?"

"Some new group... Bloody something... I didn't really pay attention. What is going on?" The investigator in him realized that this was bigger than just the attack on his sister, but the friend in him couldn't connect the dots. The appearance of Jeffries' partner stopped the questions he had, but allowed him in to see Sarah.

Looking tiny and vulnerable on the exam table, Sarah sat with her knees up under her chin, her arms wrapped around her legs. Someone had given her a pair of sweats to wear, but they were several sizes too large. The left side of her face was severely bruised, her lip swollen and bloodied. Hand shaped marks were visible on her throat, and her right wrist was braced. She didn't say anything when she saw Tim, just broke down into tears.

He didn't say anything, just moved closer and held his arms out. Knowing how many choices had been taken from her that night, he allowed her to make the first move, to set the pace. He might be a man, but he was her big brother and that was more important to the traumatized young woman. She clung to him, crying and sobbing, telling a fractured tale of a dark room filled with terror and pain. Of being trapped, the maniacal laughter as a stranger took what he wanted. When she told of how Abby had introduced her to the stranger and then vanished it was all he could do to keep breathing. Eventually, exhaustion overcame the horror of the night and she cried herself to sleep on his shoulder.

Tim continued to stroke her hair long after she succumbed to sleep, until the nurse laid her back down and covered her with a blanket. He watched her sleep, his breath coming in shorter bursts until he had to get out of there. It was a straight shot out the door and across the hall into a public restroom and he barely made it in time. Jeffries was right on his heels, while his partner stayed with Sarah.

He'd long since stopped puking at most crime scenes, but this wasn't like most crimes. It wasn't the blood and gore that tore at his stomach, it was the knowledge and the questions that drove the spasms. Eventually, even the dry heaves stopped and he rinsed out his mouth and washed his face. Jeffries handed him a paper towel and waited for the question he knew was coming.

"Why do you think Abby is involved?" When the answer didn't come immediately, he rounded on the other man. "Damn it, Jeffries, if there is the slightest chance she was involved in hurting my sister, I need to know."

Jeffries leaned against the other sink, knowing he had to tell of his suspicions. "There's been four rapes in the last three weeks with similar MO's. The one last Friday... the victim remembered seeing a woman hanging around the man that later attacked her at the after party for the Bloody Zombies concert. We worked up a sketch and the mystery woman was seen near one of the other attacks. We're reinterviewing witnesses at the scenes of the other attacks."

McGee held out his hand and waited. The folded paper was laid in his palm without a word. Convinced they were wrong, believing he would see someone he didn't recognize, he slowly unfolded the page and stared into the inked eyes of Abigail Sciuto.

"Abby."


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n - Glad you guys are liking this one, it's going to to a long, wild ride so hang on and have faith.**

It had been three days since Tim had been called to the hospital. Sarah had been released early the next morning and silently let her brother drive her to his apartment. He hadn't had the slightest idea what to say when he'd called in to work, but he sounded rough enough that Gibbs assumed he was sick. It was close enough to the truth that McGee didn't feel like he was lying.

Today he either needed to return to work or get a note from his doctor explaining to Gibbs why he was still sick. Neither was desirable, but Sarah was convinced she would be all right by herself for at least a few hours. Now, he stood in the elevator, preparing to go in the squadroom. Taking a deep breath, he adjusted his backpack and walked through the doors as they opened. "Morning." He was hoarse from talking to Sarah throughout the night to keep the nightmares at bay, and dark shadows under his eyes emphasized his exhaustion.

"You look like crap, Probie."

"Tony is correct, you do not look well, McGee."

After the comments from the rest of the team, Gibbs gave his agent a hard look. "If you're still sick, why didn't you take another day of sick leave?"

McGee dropped his backpack behind his desk and sat down, reaching for the power button on his computer. "I'm not that bad and I don't want to use any more of my sick days."

Gibbs wasn't convinced. "We take over the stakeout on the Millikan case tomorrow afternoon and I need you one hundred percent for that. Take a personal day, McGee. Tony's right, you look like crap."

He started to argue, but the nights of sitting up with Sarah, the catnaps on the inflatable bed and the stress of waiting for Metro to investigate were taking their toll. If they did catch a case today, he'd probably end up shooting himself in the foot. He wearily nodded and started to shut his computer back down. At least now he wouldn't have to worry about leaving in time to take Sarah to her doctor's appointment.

---NCIS---

David Jeffries and Karen Thompson sat at their respective desks, reviewing the case files. By now they knew they had a serial rapist on their hands, and one look at the photos of the victims told them he was becoming more violent with each attack. Their captain joined them. "Tell me you've got something on this guy."

"He's definitely getting more dangerous, but that also means that he's getting less careful." Thompson handed over the pictures of Sarah McGee. "The condom he was using broke during his last assault, so now we have DNA. His latest victim is the younger sister of a NCIS agent. She was able to give us the most detailed description so far. When we nail him, we'll have enough to take him down."

"Will she be able to testify?"

Karen thought about the question. Many cases like this fell apart in the courtroom because the victims were too devastated to talk about what happened to them. "She's pretty shaky right now, but as long as she has her brother with her, she should be all right."

Captain Oliver wasn't thrilled about the NCIS connection, they had a history of butting in and taking over. "How long do we have to get this guy before her brother pulls strings and makes this a federal case?"

"That's where things get complicated." Jeffries listened as his boss groaned. He knew the man wouldn't like it any better when he told him why it was complicated. "He has hit at raves, parties and alternative clubs in the area, that seems to be his comfort zone."

"Okay." Oliver waited to see what the problem was.

"At first we weren't overly surprised when the same woman showed up several times right before the victims were grabbed, I mean it's not a huge goth scene here in DC, so it wouldn't be a surprise if someone who parties a lot was at more than one scene."

Jeffries wasn't one to beat around the bush. His captain realized that his long winded explanation wasn't good news. "And..."

"We've identified her. She works at NCIS with the last victim's brother and she was supposed to be her ride home. The woman apparently introduced the victim to our suspect."

"Crap. This isn't going to end pretty."

"No sir, but so far McGee is concentrating on taking care of his sister and is willing to let us handle the investigation. I just don't know how long that's going to last if we can't show him some progress."

"Then we better make some progress and fast. This case is your only priority right now. If we're going to accuse someone at NCIS of being an accomplice, we'd better have some hard evidence to back it up."

---NCIS---

"Sarah?" Tim carefully moved closer, making sure to stay in her line of sight. "Hey, Sis, your doctor's appointment is in a little while, do you want to take a shower and get cleaned up?" He was worried. Her first day home, she had showered obsessively every hour on the hour. Ever since, she had refused to change out of the oversized sweats she had found in his drawer.

At first he didn't think she'd heard him, but then she nodded and turned to face him. The swelling had gone down, but the bruises were dark and painful looking, her lip still raw. "He's not going to find me here, is he?"

"No, he's not going to find you here." He moved to the dresser and pulled out another set of sweats, knowing she felt safer in the bulky fabric. "I'll be right here, between you and the door. He can't get in, I promise."

She was almost convinced. "You have your gun?"

"Yeah, I have my gun." He moved his jacket to show her the SIG at his waist. Satisfied, she picked up the clothes he'd laid out for her and locked the bathroom door behind her. A few seconds later he heard the drawers in the vanity open. Since they opened next to the door and blocked it from being opened, she'd been using them as a second layer of security since the attack. Tim sank down onto the bed and rubbed his face, suddenly exhausted.

---NCIS---

Tim had read every magazine in the waiting room by the time he was invited back to join Sarah and Dr. Turner. He took the vacant seat and waited. Dr. Turner didn't waste any time, but he was gentle. "Tim, Sarah tells me that she's not sleeping very well. I'm going to prescribe a sleeping aid, just to help for the next few weeks and we've set her up with a therapist. Physically, she is recovering, but now we need to focus on her emotional recovery."

"Whatever she needs." He held his hand out, palm up, giving her the choice. It took a moment, but she laid her hand in his and squeezed it.

Turner gave an approving nod. "Now, there are two more things we should talk about. First, you are aware of Sarah's decision to not tell your parents about what happened?"

Tim gave a sad smile. "We've had to agree to disagree on that one."

For the first time, Sarah became animated. "I don't want them to know. Mom will just cry and Dad... I don't want Dad to blame Tim, it's not his fault that Abby..."

Not wanting his sister to get too upset, Tim moved the doctor onto the second topic. "You said there were two things?"

"We drew blood today for the next round of tests for STD's, but in a few days we will need to do a pregnancy test.. Now, because she was given emergency contraceptives in the hospital that night, the chances of pregnancy is very minor, but we still need to make sure."

Sarah's grip on his hand became tight enough to cut off the circulation. "I don't want strangers for that, please, Tim."

Tim laid his other hand on top of hers. "She can do that at home, in private, right?"

Dr. Turner studied the brother and sister pair in his office. He'd been surprised when she'd asked that her brother be included in the discussion, but he could see how much she was depending on him right now. "Sarah and I have discussed the options and I've agreed to send a test kit home with her as long as she has a support system set up, and it looks like the two of you take care of each other."

"Always have, always will."


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n - Thanks for all the great reviews, I'm glad you like this one. Today it begins, so many misunderstanding, no matter how well meaning.**

A medicated slumber might not be perfect, but both McGee's felt more confident about facing the day after a good night's sleep. Tim woke at his normal time and then reset his alarm for his late day at NCIS. Sarah was just starting to wake up when he left for work.

"Are you going to be out in the field today?"

He understood that she was easily frightened and tried not to make it worse. "We've got a stakeout this afternoon, but it should be pretty routine." When she didn't seem convinced, he came over and sat on the bed. "I'll be in the van with all of the equipment, around the corner from the suspects. It will be safer than in the bullpen when Ziva's in a bad mood." Usually a comment like that would have her laughing, but the slight smile Tim saw was enough for now. A friend from the dorm was on her way over, so he slipped out the door.

---NCIS---

"Good morning, Probie. Looks like you're feeling better."

McGee forced himself to give DiNozzo a smile in return. "I'm better, thanks, Tony." He ducked his head and started immediately into his work, not noticing the concerned glances exchanged by the rest of the team.

An hour into their late day, Gibbs sent McGee down to the lab to check with Abby that the equipment was ready to be loaded in the van. When McGee picked up the phone, Gibbs shook his head. "I said go check on the equipment. Make sure everything is there that you'll need."

For a moment, McGee looked like he was going to object, then he kicked his chair back and moved to the elevator. Once he was moving, Gibbs headed the other directions for coffee before they left to run the surveillance. As soon they were alone in the squad room, Ziva turned to Tony.

"Why did Gibbs make him go down there to double check something that is already done?"

Tony was already on his feet, planning to follow McGee. "Something is wrong with McGee and if anybody can get him to talk about it, it'll be Abby. He tells her everything."

"So, where are you going?" Ziva stood to follow him.

"We can't help him if we don't know what's wrong, Ziva." Instead of the elevator, Tony headed for the stairs. Ziva grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"He is telling Abby, not you."

"Yeah, well, normally, I'd just wait for Abby to tell me, but we're leaving soon, so I can't wait." He tapped her cheeks before resuming his path. "Besides, if it's really private, he'll talk to her in her office with the door closed. You coming or not?" She glared at him, but she followed him out the door.

---NCIS---

"Hey, McGee, long time no see. Tony said you were sick, why didn't you call me? I'd have come over and hung out with you." Abby was on her fifth Caf-Pow of the day and she was buzzing, enough that she didn't pick up on anything unusual when McGee sidestepped her hug.

"I just need to check on the equipment for the van, Abby." McGee checked over everything carefully, much to Abby's amusement.

"What? You don't trust me all of a sudden, or are you hiding from Gibbs? Oh, are you in trouble?"

"Abby..."

"Oh, come on, Timmy, you can tell me."

"Abby!" Even thought his voice was low, this time his tone was sharp enough to stop her in her tracks. "Gibbs asked me to check on this, so that's what I am doing."

"Well, you don't have to get all pissy about it. I just wanted to know if you were feeling better so the four of us could go out. I got us all tickets to go see the Talking Heads." Abby was loading the mass spectrometer and didn't see the look on his face. "Sarah had a good time at the club, right?"

"Is this all some sort of sick game to you?" Tim shoved away from the table and turned to leave.

For the first time Abby really looked at him and saw how upset he was. "I'm not playing any games, McGee. What is your problem?"

"You've got to be kidding me. Just stay the hell away from my sister, and stay away from me." As he stormed out of the lab he passed Tony and Ziva, not even noticing them in his haste to get away from Abby. When the elevator doors closed behind him Tony marched into the lab. Not one to back down, Ziva was only a few steps behind him.

"Hey, Abs, whats up with Probie? He seemed kinda upset when he left."

She shrugged and turned back to her machines. "Guess I'm not his favorite person anymore."

---NCIS---

The noon to midnight shift of surveillance was always the hardest, which was why it was usually assigned to Gibbs' team. Usually the four of them would rotate through the positions, but there was an extra technical aspect to this case which meant that McGee spent the entire shift in the van and the other three rotated. Two outside, watching the apartment, with one in the van with McGee. Gibbs took the first shift inside, still not convinced that all was right with the brooding man.

"Pretty quiet today, McGee."

Tim checked all the equipment again, even though it had just been three minutes since his last check. "I'm all right, Boss, just got a lot on my mind."

Gibbs took a sip of his coffee as he studied the other man. "Need help with anything?"

The offer was sincere, he knew that. At least it would be sincere until Gibbs knew that Abby was under suspicion. He couldn't count the many times he'd seen where he was in the pecking order of Gibbs' world. Jeffries was right, it was better to let Metro handle it until they had a definitive answer regarding Abby's involvement in the attack on his sister. "Thanks, but no, I need to do this on my own."

When Tim's back was turned, Gibbs allowed a moment of pride to show on his face. McGee had come so far since those first years. Now he was a strong, independent man capable of so much. If he needed to work something out on his own, Gibbs would give him the space to do it. "All right, if you change your mind..."

"Yeah, thanks, Boss." Tim carefully regulated his breathing to not give his anguish away as he continued to watch the screens in front of him. Only another two hours and then DiNozzo would be in with him. Tony would tease, but that he could handle in his sleep.

The first hour with DiNozzo was surprisingly quiet with little teasing and not a single prank. Just as McGee was letting his guard down, Tony leaned close. "So what did Abby do to get you so upset?"

"What?" Tim froze, then forced himself to act natural. "I don't know what you mean."

"You're a lousy liar, McGee. We heard you arguing with her. If you'd done something to make her mad, we'd all know about it by now, so it's got to be the other way around. So, what did she do?"

Having someone agree that Abby wasn't always perfect lifted the weight just a little, but he knew that if push came to shove, Tony would side with Gibbs who would always side with Abby. "Let's just say that she forgets that she has no right to affect other people's lives." He couldn't quite hide the pain in his voice.

"Sounds pretty serious." Tony tried to watch McGee's face reflected in the screen, but the images weren't dark enough to act like a mirror.

"I don't want to talk about it, Tony."

"McGee..."

"No. There's an innocent third party involved that didn't ask to get involved."

Seeing the determined look on his partner's face, DiNozzo let it drop until the end of his shift in the van. Picking up his coat and preparing to brave the evening chill, he leaned close and rested a hand on McGee's shoulder. "I know I've given you a lot of crap all these years, but I thought when we went to Somalia you knew that I'd have your back. That hasn't changed just because we're home, Tim."

---NCIS---

"Here," Jeffries handed Thompson a cup of coffee as he sat next to her. "Any luck?" He looked past the stacks of video tapes to see the black and white images on the small television set up on the table. Karen gratefully drank half of the cup as she rubbed her eyes.

"I think I now know every goth within a hundred miles of DC, but yeah, I've identified her at the scene of three of the rapes. There's a guy with her, but he seems to know where the cameras are." Karen shook her head. "All I can tell is that he's big, taller than the woman and heavily built, and has dark hair."

That fit with the descriptions they'd gotten from the victims. Sarah McGee was able to give the most details, but even she was limited by the dark room she was attacked in. "So what are you looking at now?"

"The rave was held in an abandoned building."

Jeffries knew where that was headed. "No security footage."

"Bingo, but I'm checking security and traffic cams from the surrounding area. Maybe we can find something. Three sightings and we bring her in for questioning. Four and the DA will get us an arrest warrant.

---NCIS---

"Ziva?"

"Yes, McGee?" Other than a gentle smile and the delivery of a nice meal instead of fast food, Ziva David had acted normally during her time in the van. He recognized the silent support, and was grateful for the space she was giving him.

"If you don't want to tell me, I'd understand."

"I appreciate that, McGee, but I cannot refuse a question I have not heard." The gentle smile was back and even McGee had to smile a bit in return.

"Sorry, Ziva, umm, how did you get over what happened to you in Somalia?"

The question stopped her in her tracks, but before McGee could stammer out an apology, she was able to find her voice. "Some things you do not get over, but I have come to terms with what happened and have moved on." She reached out and squeezed his arm. "Having the support of good friends helped a great deal. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, it does, thanks."

She waited until the next shift was arriving before she speaking again. "McGee?" He didn't answer, but he did look up at her. "You have always been a good friend to me. I hope the reverse is also true."

Ziva's words rang in his ears all the way home. He quietly came in the door and patted Jethro on the head. Sarah was asleep in the bed, while her friend from school, Lisa, was curled up in his computer chair, surfing the net.

"Hey, Lisa, thanks for staying with her."

She stood and picked up her backpack and coat. "No problem, Tim, I'm just glad I could help."

After what had happened to Sarah, he was uncomfortable sending the young woman out alone in the middle of the night. "It's pretty late, do you want to crash here? You can set the inflatable bed up in the bedroom."

"It's okay, my boyfriend is picking me up. I was online with him when I heard your car pull in." She looked out the window and waited for a familiar car to pull in. When it did, she went to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow. Same time?"

"Same time, thanks." He stepped out onto the landing and waited until she was safely in the car before returning to the apartment and locking the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n - Posting quick before the two terrors get up for the day. Take a deep breath, this chapter is a wild ride.**

Despite the late night, McGee was up as soon as he heard Sarah moving around. He deflated and stored his bed to protect it from doggie nails and had the coffee on when Sarah came out. She immediately sat in his computer chair, tucking her knees under her chin, her hands lost in the oversized sleeves. "Today is the day." She stared at her backpack, seeing instead the pregnancy test hidden inside.

"Yeah, it is." Tim kept his tone soft, letting her take the lead.

Sarah used the fabric bunched at her wrists to scrub at the tears on her face. "What am I going to do if it's positive? "I don't think I can handle part of him growing inside me, does that make me an awful person?"

Tim moved closer, kneeling down next to her. "No, Sarah, it makes you human. Whatever happens, whatever you decide, I'll be with you one hundred percent." He held his hand out and waited for her to take it, a routine they had fallen into since her assault. "It may not seem like it right now, but it's going to get better."

"Mom and Dad are going to find out, aren't they? The insurance company is going to send them copies of the hospital bill." She started to hyperventilate. "I'm not ready for them to know, Tim. Dad's going to be so mad and..."

"Hey, hey, you're the victim here, they'll understand that. Yeah, Dad's going to be mad, but at the animal that hurt you, not at you. But you don't have to tell them until you're ready. I'm paying the hospital bills myself, so you don't have to worry about it." Both of them knew that Tim would be the most likely recipient of their father's anger, especially if a friend of Tim's was implicated.

Sarah bit back a sob in relief. That night at the hospital she had begged Tim not to call home. She hadn't really understood at the time just how much she was asking of him, but her brother had taken care of everything. Tim waited until she could give him a shaky smile.

"You ready?" When she nodded, he stood and waited for her. When she was ready, she walked into the bathroom with the kit and closed the door. A few minutes later she came out, clutching the instruction sheet.

"It says not to look at the test strip for three minutes." Instead, they stared at the clock, Tim bouncing his knee, Sarah twisting her hair. At three minutes Sarah returned to the bathroom. She came out moments later, sobbing, the plastic test strip in her hand as she threw herself into Tim's arms. He didn't know if it was tears of joy or sorrow until he saw the single pink line in the result window.

"Thank God, oh, thank God." Shedding a few tears of relief himself, he let Sarah sob against his shoulder until she had exhausted herself. When she finally pulled back, Tim gently wiped her tears away. "I've got to take Jethro for a walk and then to the groomers, how about if I pick up some of those sticky buns you like while I'm out? You haven't been eating very much."

The promise of her favorite treat seemed to perk her up a bit as she tossed the used test in the garbage. "The butterscotch ones?"

"Sure, sis, if that's what you want." Tim left, hoping that today would be the day her recovery turned the corner.

---NCIS---

Tony was waiting for Ziva at the end of her run. He handed over her favorite coffee order as they walked to the parking lot where she had left her car. "Has McGee talked to you?"

Normally the temptation to tease him would be something she wouldn't resist, but she was worried about McGee also. "No, he has not. Other that the case, he only asked me how I recovered from what happened in Somalia."

He thought that was an odd thing to bring up under the circumstances, and, judging from her expression, so did Ziva. Tony tried to fit it in with what McGee had said to him, but the pieces didn't fit yet. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him that some things you do not get over, that instead you must come to terms with what happens and move on. It seemed to answer his question."

"Have you?"

Ziva thought about pretending to misunderstand the question, but after the risks her team had faced for her, she couldn't. "For the most part, yes. What do you suggest we do about McGee? He is distracted and hurting. He and Abby have had their differences, but never like this."

Tony tossed his empty cup in a garbage can as they walked past. "I'm going to go talk to him. Just the two of us, man to man, maybe he'll open up. Probie's not good about keeping things bottled up. See you at the office later."

It was a quick drive to McGee's apartment, so it was only a few minutes later when Tony found himself knocking on the door. He'd seen McGee's car in the lot, so when there was no answer, he pulled out his lockpick set and started to work.

---NCIS---

After a brisk walk in the park, Tim put Jethro in the car and left for the groomers. He was very close to being late, but bumping into the apartment manager in the park had been a good thing. A two bedroom apartment was opening up soon and Tim could transfer his lease to the larger unit. He was thrilled his sister felt safe in his home, but if he didn't start getting some sleep in a real bed pretty soon he wouldn't be able to function. Even if or when she moved back to the dorms, he liked the idea that she had a place in his home whenever she wanted it.

---NCIS---

Sarah paced in the small apartment, starting almost as soon as Tim left with Jethro, but she refused to admit to him how scared she was of being alone, even for the hour the morning run and trip to the groomers would take. A knock on the door almost sent her to her knees, the sounds of metal picks forcing the lock open sent her in terror to a hiding place in the bedroom closet.

---NCIS---

Tony let himself in the small apartment. It never ceased to amuse him that McGee still hadn't moved into a bigger place. Sometimes he wondered if the other man resisted getting himself a nicer place because of a misplaced hope that he and Abby would get back together and need a joint place of their own. No matter the reason, it was his job to get his Probie out of his funk. No McGee yelling at him about barging in, so this was going to take stronger measures. He called out, just in case he had totally misread the situation and the younger man was entertaining a beautiful woman. "I know you're here, you can't hide forever."

When he received no answer, Tony walked into the bedroom. The bedding was rumpled, so he knew someone else had been the last person to get up that morning. McGee practically made his bed before he was completely out of it every morning, a fact that always made DiNozzo feel like a slob on out of town assignments. "You holding out on me? Who's been sleeping in the bed?" He circled around the bed, letting his fingers trail against the sliding closet doors, but didn't see anything else out of place. His next stop was the bathroom.

---NCIS---

Sarah pressed back against the far corner of the closet as the footsteps came closer. She was trapped, her cell phone on the charger in the kitchen. When she heard a man's voice call out that she couldn't hide forever, she bit down on her hand to keep from screaming and huddled further down on the closet floor. She tracked the footsteps as they came closer to her hiding place. Unable to move for fear of giving away her location, she frantically looked around for something to defend herself with. In the dim light that seeped in around the edges of the sliding doors she could see very little. Her brother kept his clothing neat and tidy, only a perfect stack of shoe boxes was on the floor. Feeling helpless, she wrapped her arms tighter around her, instinctively grasping the pill bottle in her pocket. He couldn't find her again, and if he did, she did not want to survive another encounter.

---NCIS---

Only one thing was out of place on the bathroom counter. Tony picked up the empty cardboard box and saw red. "You idiot, McGee. We deal with evidence all day, how could you not use protection?" Tony continued to mutter to himself as he crushed the empty pregnancy test box in his hands. "This is what you and Abby were arguing about? Do you have any idea what Gibbs is going to do to you when he finds out you knocked her up? He's going to kill you." His voice rose as he repeated himself. "Going to kill you."

Tony prowled the room, the crumpled box still clutched in his hand. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, why in the hell didn't you come to me, McGee? I told you I'd have your back, but if she tells Gibbs first, nobody's going to be able to save you. He's going to rip your arm off and beat you bloody with it. Gonna die a slow, painful death and nobody is going to be able to save you this time." Frustrated, he threw the box against the closet door before storming out. He had to find Ziva and figure a way to get McGee out of this mess before Gibbs found out.

---NCIS---

Between the roaring in her ears and the movement of the intruder, Sarah couldn't hear every word he said, but she heard enough as she opened the bottle of pills. _Going to kill you... nobody's going to be able to save you... beat you bloody... slow, painful death... nobody is going to be able to save you... _By the time something hit the closet door, she had swallowed the last pill.


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n - Today it hits the proverbial fan. Seatbelts on, everyone?**

"Sarah, I'm home." Tim tossed his keys on the counter before carefully setting the pastry box down. There was only silence in response. "Sarah?" Resting his hand on the butt of his SIG, McGee began to carefully check the apartment. Nothing seemed out of place in the main room, so he moved to the doorway into his bedroom. "Sarah, what's wrong, where are you?"

Something was wadded up on the floor in front of his closet and he bent down to pick it up. Still squatting down, he unfolded the cardboard and found himself looking at the box Dr. Turner had given Sarah at her last appointment, the box she had opened and used that morning, the box that seemed to have given her relief. "Sarah?"

The faintest of sound came to him. He reached out and grasped the handle of the sliding door, pulling it open. She was slumped in the corner, her hair covering her face. "Sarah, what's wrong? Did something scare you?" She didn't respond, but her breathing was too slow and shallow for this to be a panic attack. He reached out and touched her arm. It limply fell to the side, an empty plastic bottle rolling out of her hand and across to rest at his knee.

"No, no, no, God, no!" Tim reached in and pulled her close, slapping at her face, trying to rouse her. When she started to struggle he grabbed the waste basket next to the bed and shoved it close as he forced his fingers down her throat. When she stopped vomiting and fell back against him, he ignored his own nausea as he counted the intact capsules while he dialed 911. By the time the apartment was filled with emergency personnel he was able to tell them exactly what she had taken and how much was still in her system.

The paramedics needed the room and Tim needed his car, so he followed behind the ambulance as it wound its way to a nearby hospital. Forcing himself to remain calm, he called Detective Jeffries.

_Yeah, Jeffries._

"It's McGee. We're on our way to the hospital. Sarah tried to kill herself."

_Oh, God, is she going to be all right?_

"I don't know yet. How much longer..."

_We're still pulling together surveillance footage from around the locations of each attack and the District Attorney is reviewing everything we have so far to determine if we can get an arrest warrant. Just hang on for another day._

"No, this needs to end now. I have to know if she's involved with what happened to my sister.

_A couple of hours, then. Give us that long._

Tim didn't answer, just disconnected the call as the two vehicles pulled into the emergency entrance. The next few hours were a blur as he waited for them to stabilize Sarah. At one point Dr. Turner arrived and rushed into the exam room. Tim immediately felt better, Dr. Turner had been Sarah's doctor since she had arrived in DC to attend college and she trusted him.

An hour after Sarah was moved into a room, her friend, Lisa, showed up in the waiting room. "I went to your apartment to bring Sarah her schoolbooks and your neighbor told me she had been taken in an ambulance. Is she all right?"

Tim nodded slowly, looking towards the room his sister was sleeping in. "Yeah, she'll be all right. Can you stay here for a little while?" He looked back at the young woman. "I'm going to take an emergency leave from work for a while, but it will be easier if I do it in person."

"Sure." Lisa's curls bounced as she agreed. "My next class isn't for a couple of hours." She waited until McGee was out of the building before digging her cell phone out of her purse. She scrolled through the M's until she found the number she was looking for and pressed 'send'. "Mrs. McGee? This is Lisa, a friend of Sarah's. She doesn't want you to know that she's in the hospital, but I think you you should know what's going on..."

---NCIS---

McGee drove carefully and just under the speed limit as he struggled to control his emotions. If it wasn't for the fact that Director Vance would insist that he personally sign his paperwork before his emergency leave could start, nothing could get him in the building right now. He turned his phone back on, after having it off while in the emergency room with Sarah. He had missed two calls from Abby and was ignoring the voice mail alert for now.

---NCIS---

"Did you speak to McGee?" Ziva looked up as Tony came into the squad room and tossed his backpack under his desk.

"I would if I could find him." Tony threw himself into his chair and booted up his computer by habit more than awareness. "I was at his place early this morning. His car was there, but he wasn't. Then when I came out of his place, his car was gone. I've been everyplace I can think of and no sign of him."

Ziva frowned as she tried to keep up with the angry rambles. "You were in his apartment, but he wasn't there? You picked the lock?

"Well, yeah, he didn't answer the door. He's not answering his phone either. It's going straight to voice mail."

That surprised Ziva. "He has his phone off? Gibbs will have his skin for that."

"Hide, Ziva. The expression is Gibbs will have his hide, but that's the least of Probie's problems right now. There was an empty box for a pregnancy test in his bathroom. Since he's not dating anyone at the moment, and he and Abby are fighting..."

"You think McGee has gotten Abby pregnant?"

"Yeah, and if he doesn't have a ring on her finger before Gibbs finds out about it, he's a dead man."

Ziva shook her head. "Abby is a grown woman, not a child. If she is pregnant with McGee's child, then she has to take some of the responsibility."

Tony realized that Gibbs had to be around someplace and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Yeah, you want to be the one to explain that to Gibbs? You know how he is about Abby; she's the favorite that can do no wrong. If McGee knocked Abby up, then he'd better be doing what Gibbs thinks is the right thing, no matter how old fashioned it is."

Gibbs was coming around the corner after a run to his favorite coffee shop when hissed words from DiNozzo caught his attention. He bit back his anger, believing that if what Tony was saying was true, then McGee would do the right thing. Before he could circle the partition behind DiNozzo's desk, the ding of the elevator caught his attention.

---NCIS---

Abby was coming back from an early lunch when she spotted McGee coming into the building. Determined to get answers, she slipped into the elevator with him just as the doors closed, trapping him in with her. "What is your problem, McGee?"

Frustrated and distracted, McGee hit the button for the squad room level rather than the one for the Director's office. "Just leave me alone, Abby. Just stay away from me." He shifted his body so she couldn't reach the emergency stop.

"I spent a lot of money on that pack of tickets so the four of us could go. Are you going to pay me for your share?"

The elevator stopped on the requested floor, and McGee didn't even wait for the doors to fully open before he was squeezing his way out, away from her. "Forget it, Abby."

"What do you want me to do with them?"

Furious, he turned, yelling at her. "I don't care what you do. It's your problem, not mine, just get rid of 'em. Now leave me the hell alone." Storming through the bullpen on his way upstairs to see Vance, McGee didn't even register that he walked past Gibbs, until he was grabbed by the pissed off man and slammed face first into the nearest wall.

"What kind of man throws away his own kid, McGee, what kind of man?" He twisted McGee's arm up behind him and pressed him harder against the wall, forcing McGee up onto his toes.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Boss." Instinctively, he fought back. Gibbs released the pressure against him, only to spin him around and toss him back against the wall.

"You're saying that Abby isn't pregnant?"

McGee used the back of his hand to wipe the blood from his mouth. "I don't know what she's turning into, but I do know that she sure the hell isn't pregnant by me."

Gibbs looked at the stunned woman in question still standing by the elevator before glaring at DiNozzo. Tony wasn't convinced yet that he was totally wrong. "Then who did you get pregnant?"

"What are you talking about?" McGee shook his head, trying to clear it. No one was making any sense, and he didn't have the time or the energy to care about their problems right now.

"The box from a home pregnancy test was in your bathroom."

The pieces fell into place. "You broke into my home? You son of a Bitch, do you have any idea what you've done?" He tried to charge the other man, but Gibbs still had a hold on him and wasn't letting go.

"What in the hell is going on down there?" The thundering voice of Leon Vance brought the argument to a standstill. Before any of them could give him the answers he wanted, the elevator doors opened again, delivering an MP escorting Detectives Jeffries and Thompson.

Jeffries had a pretty good idea what the situation was about and didn't waste any time as he held up his badge. "We're here for Miss Sciuto."

"For what?" Gibbs let go of McGee and stepped closer to Abby. Jeffries put himself between Abby and Gibbs while Thompson pulled out her handcuffs and explained.

"We're going to interview her for now, the DA is still determining charges. Of course, if Miss Sciuto is unwilling to cooperate, then we will go ahead and arrest her right now."

"Charges? What is she accused of doing?" For one of the few times in his life, Gibbs realizes he's made a horrible error in judgment. "Tim?" He turned back to McGee and reached out for him. Tim flinched away from him without a word.

By now Vance was down the stairs. "Nobody is going anywhere until I know whats going on. Detectives, you can use one of our interrogation rooms to interview Miss Sciuto. The MP will escort you." He gave the man a hard look and the corporal took the police officers and Abby to the back elevator. DiNozzo and David started to follow, until Vance barked more orders. "You three take the stairs down. Use the time to cool off. McGee, you're with me." Vance went straight for the main elevator, knowing that McGee would be at his heels.

The elevator had barely moved before Vance threw the emergency stop. "Don't tell Gibbs I'm using his office." He'd hoped the slight joke would help relax McGee. When it didn't, he knew just how bad it was. "All right, McGee, tell me exactly what is going on, from the beginning. You've got five minutes."

It only took three minutes, but it left the other man stunned. "McGee... Tim, I am so sorry that this happened to your sister."

"Yeah."

The tone and the stiff posture told Vance that McGee expected him to side with Abby. All he had to do was to think of his own daughter to give McGee the answer he so desperately needed. "I give you my word, we will not impede the investigation at all. If the evidence is there, Abby will be turned over the Metro PD."


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n - and the fall out begins. Thank you all for your wonderful comments.**

Vance followed McGee into the observation room, where Gibbs, DiNozzo and David were already waiting. Having been called by Gibbs, Ducky arrived a few moments later with his medical bag . He was already shaking an instant cold pack for the rapidly forming bruise on the side of McGee's face. After a few words whispered to him by Vance, Tim let Ducky examine him. He turned down the suggested x-rays, but did accept the ice pack, all the while never taking his eyes off the woman in the interrogation room. Abby, for her part, was refusing to acknowledge her questioners, instead staring at the table, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest.

Once Ducky moved away, Gibbs moved back next to McGee, a look of sorrow on his face as he reached out for the younger man's shoulder. "Tim..."

"Don't, just don't." His arms were wrapped around himself, but unlike Abby's defiance, it was an obvious attempt to hold himself together as even the most casual of observers could see the fine tremors that wracked his body.

Gibbs let his hand drop, but didn't totally back down. "The only thing that could make you this mad at Abby is if she did something to hurt Sarah." Seeing Tim's reaction, Gibbs knew he'd hit the jackpot. Also realizing it, Tony and Ziva moved closer and listened. "What was it? What did Abby do to Sarah?"

Before he answered Gibbs, Tim took his phone out and dialed. In the interrogation room Jeffries' cell phone rang and he answered it. Tim's voice was flat. "The people in here with me need to see the photos of Sarah." Once he closed his phone, he continued in the same monotone voice. "Sarah didn't want to go to the club, but Abby talked her into it. Promised to take her and bring her home, stay close to her the whole time. She told Sarah that she needed to experience things out of her comfort zone if she was going to be a writer."

By now Karen Thompson was at the mirrored window with the photo of Sarah's battered, bloodied face, holding it up. After a moment she exchanged it for a close up photo of the hand shaped bruises on her throat. Eventually she cycled through all the pictures and closed the file, returning to the table.

Gibbs closed his eyes for a minute before he asked McGee anything else. "How did they get separated?"

"They didn't." Tim looked at Gibbs for a moment before returning his attention on what was happening in the next room. "Abby handed Sarah over to him and then left her there. A janitor found Sarah semi-conscious in the alley behind the club. She wasn't the only victim, Gibbs." Tim finally turned to face the senior agent. "The other victims remember Abby being there right before they were attacked. I don't want to believe Abby did this, but it's my baby sister, Boss, my baby sister and now Abby is refusing to talk." McGee was too angry and hurt to pull any punches. "What if it had been Kelly she'd taken to that club?"

The one most striking similarity between the two men was their fierce devotion to family. Gibbs had lost his in what he had thought was the worst way possible. He couldn't imagine if a friend had been involved. "She'll talk to me." Gibbs had the look in his eye of a hunter on the prowl as he left the room.

Even the detectives jumped when Gibbs entered the room, the door banging against the wall. Abby recovered quickly and tried to convince him she was right. "Gibbs, they're saying terrible things about my friend. It's all a mistake, somebody is trying to frame him. Make them give me the evidence and I'll prove it."

Gibbs had recognized the mood. Before, he'd been amused by her absolute certainly in the face of overwhelming odds. Today as he remembered Sarah's devastated expression in the photos, it just angered him. He looked over at the rest of the file Thompson was holding. A police sketch was visible, though they hadn't shown it to Abby yet. He pointed to it and she handed it over. Without a word, he slid it across the table, watching Abby's reaction. Her eyes widened, but she kept silent.

Jeffries also watched her reaction. "This is the suspect that raped Sarah McGee. We have images from the club's security cameras that showed you with him several times that night. We can also place you and him in the vicinity of a series of rapes over the last few weeks. Every victim has identified him as their attacker."

"No." Abby shook her head, but she didn't look as confident as she had a few minutes earlier. "It's a mistake, he wouldn't hurt anyone."

Thompson started laying out the pictures of the victims, starting with the first one. Each picture told a story of increasing violence, ending with the image of Sarah's face. Silently crying now, Abby trailed her finger around the bruise that covered one side of her face. "Roger has been my friend since grade school. How could he do something like this? I can't believe he'd do this."

"His last attack was so brutal, the condom he was using tore. We have DNA, Miss Sciuto, will that be enough evidence for you?"

"If you continue to impeded this investigation, you will be charged as an accessory after the fact."

Abby was listening to the detectives, but watching Gibbs. His expression was angry, hard. Even when she stared to cry it hadn't softened. "Gibbs, please?"

He stood and leaned across the table towards her. "You give them every scrap of information you have on this bastard or I'll put the handcuffs on you myself." There was a notepad on the corner of the table and he tossed it in front of her as he leaned over to whisper in her ear, too soft for anyone else to hear. "If you helped him rape Sarah, you'll find out you're not the only one who can kill and leave no forensic evidence." He slammed his hand down on the empty papers, turned and walked out the door.

Gibbs couldn't hide his anger when he returned to the observation room, but he toned it down as much as he could for Tim's sake, deliberately keeping his voice soft as he came up behind him. "You did the right thing, Tim. You let Metro handle the investigation and you concentrated on Sarah." When McGee didn't move away from Gibbs he gently rested his hands on the younger man's shoulders. There was a slight flinch, but Tim didn't step away from him. "How is Sarah doing?"

"Not good, she was staying at my apartment since the attack, but..."

Tony finally spoke up, for the first time since they had entered the observation room. "I was there, McGee, she wasn't there."

"Yeah, she was, Tony. When you broke into my apartment, she hid."

"Shit, man, I'm sorry. I was pretty angry that you weren't confiding in us when I found the test box. I must have scared the hell out of her."

Ziva had enough of her own nightmares to know how the traumatized young woman would react. "She thought it was her attacker, returning for her."

"Yeah." Tim dropped his head down, letting his chin rest on his chest. "She hid in the back corner of my bedroom closet. All she had to defend herself with was the bottle of sleeping pills they gave her."

Ziva immediately knew what had happened, Gibbs made the connection only seconds later, tightening his grasp on Tim's shoulders "Oh, God." Tony was the only one who didn't understand.

"How could she defend herself with a bottle of sleeping pills?

Ziva answered so McGee didn't have to say the words. "She didn't want to live through another encounter with her rapist, Tony."

"What do you mean, she didn't want to live through... are you saying that she... that she tried..." Tony stumbled backwards and fell into the nearest chair. "You got to her in time, right? She's going to be okay?" The silence from McGee was disturbing.

"Tim?" Gibbs had never seen him like this. "Tim, is Sarah..."

"It took them a couple of hours to stabilize her, and she probably won't be awake until tonight, but, yeah, I found her in time."

"Thank God." Gibbs leaned slightly forward and rested his forehead against the back of McGee's head, while Tony slumped down in the chair, his face buried in his hands and his shoulders shaking.

Tim accepted the comfort from Gibbs for just a moment before he stiffened and moved forward. Gibbs didn't force the issue, dropping his hands as soon as McGee started to pull away. "I need to get back to the hospital."

"Of course. Is there anything we do to help you? Do you need someone to pick your parents up at the airport?" Gibbs hoped that even the smallest effort McGee would accept would be the first step in rebuilding the trust.

"Sarah doesn't want them to know. I... I understand her reasons." By now, McGee was facing Gibbs and the older man could see something worrisome in his eyes, but felt like he hadn't the right to question him.

"Were the paramedics at your apartment with Sarah?" When Tim nodded, Ziva continued. "Why don't Tony and I go take care of the mess they left behind." A second nod from McGee and Ziva knew she was on the right track. "What about Jethro, should we take him for a walk?"

"He's at the groomers." Tim looked down at his watch and groaned. "I'm supposed to be picking him up right now.

"Why don't I do that? In fact, he can stay at my place for a few days so you can focus on Sarah."

"Thanks, Boss." The smile was weak, but it gave the rest of the team hope that they might get through this. He looked across the room to Director Vance, who had been quietly observing. "Director, could I speak to you in private before I leave?"

"Of course, Agent McGee." Vance held the door open for him, not giving any of the team members time to question McGee.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n - Thansk for all the wonderful comments. I appreciate the support when writing such a difficult topic. Today's chapter is short, but it needed to stand alone.**

Gibbs waited until he heard the elevator arrive before he left the observation room. McGee didn't look back as he entered the elevator, but Vance did with a look of sadness that did not bode well for what Tim was telling him. A few hours ago he would have followed them, insisting on being the one to help his troubled agent. Now all he could do was damage control and hope that McGee would be around long enough for them to work through what had happened.

As he entered the interrogation room he gave a brief nod to Jeffries and Thompson before sitting across from Abby. She was still writing on the pad he'd given her, stopping occasionally to wipe at the tears on her face. Her body had tensed when he sat down, but she gave no overt acknowledgment that he was there. He waited and watched for a few minutes before he had to ask. "Why, Abby? Just tell me why."

Abby very carefully laid the pen down on the paper and started twisting her heavy, black ring, never looking up at Gibbs. "Roger's family moved down the street from ours when we were both in the third grade. I was the tallest girl in my grade, I liked science and my parents were deaf. I was an outcast until Roger showed up and then I was his best friend. We wore outrageous clothes and came up with wild experiments. He said that I was the only person in the world that understood him."

She finally looked up at Gibbs and he could see the sorrow on her face. "I hadn't seen him in almost ten years and then he called about a month ago, said he was in town. We went out, danced, had a few drinks, he said he had lousy luck dating, challenged me to pick out a woman that he'd like. It was a game, Gibbs. I'd point out someone I thought he'd like. I didn't stay long because I'd have to be at work early, but he'd stay and try to pick her up. It was supposed to be harmless. I mean it was Roger, the guy who helped me put a tarantula in Mrs. Goldstien's desk."

As angry as Gibbs was, he felt sorry for her. For all her brilliance, Abby was clueless at times, allowing herself to be defined by the men she surrounded herself with. Marty, who abandoned her because she was too tall; Mikel, whose possessiveness thrilled her until his obsession became deadly; and now Roger, whose childhood antics still colored everything she saw. For not the first time he wished she'd built a relationship with McGee. Good, kind, dependable McGee who had been her intellectual equal, but in the end too normal, too traditional for the Goth. He had pined for her for years. Even now, years after she had broken it off with him, McGee would have done anything for Abby, until this, until now. Gibbs had to know, if he had any chance of helping any of them.

"Why Sarah, Abs?" When Abby looked down at the tabletop and didn't answer him, he repeated himself. "Why Sarah?"

Abby used her fingernail to trace the woodgrain on the table top. "Timmy's not right for me. He drinks white wine instead of Red Bull and vodka. He likes old jazz and classical music. He wanted the house with the picket fence and the two point five kids. Can you imagine me living like that, driving a minivan? That's why I broke it off, we're not right for each other."

"But you still love him."

Abby continued on as if she hadn't heard him. "It wasn't so bad when he kept dating those women who didn't appreciate him, didn't know what a great guy he is. We'd still hang out, commiserate, but lately he's getting so confident and I realized that he didn't need me anymore. Not like that. And then Roger wanted me to find him the perfect woman and I thought that if he and Sarah got together, then the four of us could double date and..."

"And he'd fall back in love with you."

She looked up and shrugged. "Stupid, right?"

"No, not stupid. It was... God, Abby, I don't know." Gibbs rubbed his eyes as the words escaped him. "I honestly don't know."

In the corner of the room, Jeffries closed his phone. He certainly understood Gibbs' dilemma. Part of him wanted to slap the cuffs on her, while part of him wanted to wrap her in a blanket and give her hot chocolate. What he had to tell her wasn't going to make it any easier. He sat next to Gibbs and waited for her to look at him.

Abby was clinging to her last hopes. "You found something that proves this is all a big mistake, right? That Roger isn't the one that hurt Sarah?"

"Abby, the reason you hadn't heard from him in almost ten years... he just finished serving an eight year sentence in Alabama for sexual assault."

"No... no, no, no. There has to be a mistake."

"He's not in the national databank because they're so backlogged, but the authorities in Alabama sent us his DNA profile. It's a match, he's the one that raped Sarah."

For a moment Gibbs thought she was hyperventilating, but then Abby forced herself to calm down. "I have to talk to Sarah, Gibbs. I have to tell her how sorry I am."

"I don't think that's possible right now, Abby."

"But Gibbs..."

"Abby, Sarah is in the hospital." Gibbs didn't want to tell her, but she needed to know. "When Tony went to McGee's apartment to check on him, Sarah thought it was her rapist coming back for her and she tried to kill herself."

"Oh, God, oh God. Gibbs, how do I fix this?" She had her arms wrapped around her middle as she rocked in her chair. "How do I fix it?"

"I don't know if you can, Abby." Gibbs turned and looked back at the mirror, at the shattered remains of his team that he knew were back there. "I don't know if any of us can."


	8. Chapter 8

"Agent McGee, I assume that you will want to take emergency leave to take care of your sister?"

Tim didn't look back as the elevator doors opened. "Yes, sir, and then a transfer." As he entered the elevator, he didn't notice Vance looking up at Gibbs. Vance didn't say anything until the elevator was moving.

"Perhaps this is something you should think about first. It's been a very difficult day, I'm sure." It was a quick ride upstairs, and within moments they were in Vance's office and his assistant was under orders not to let anyone else in. "You're also a victim here, Tim. Falling on your sword is not your only option."

"I appreciate that, Director Vance, but this is a decision I made before I arrived." McGee sat in the chair across from Vance as the older man settled behind his desk. "My sister is going to need me for more than a few days so I need to not be out in the field. I need to be available for Sarah, with regular hours she can depend on. If I have to leave early to take her to a doctor's appointment, I don't want to be risking someone else's life, sir. As much as I really don't want to be, I need to be riding a desk for the foreseeable future."

Even if he didn't know the other man so well now, the defeated posture told Vance how difficult it was for McGee to walk away from the job he loved and excelled at. "First, we need to discuss your current team. DiNozzo broke into your apartment and Gibbs assaulted you without provocation." He held his hand up to prevent McGee from saying anything. "His assumption that you had fathered a child by Miss Sciuto is not enough provocation, even if he'd been correct. You would be well within your rights to file charges against both of them."

"No, I'm not filing any charges against either of them."

Vance wasn't all that surprised, but he was curious. "Would you tell me why?"

It took a few minutes for Tim to say anything, but Vance could see him working through his answer, so he waited. "We've done some amazing things over the years, and I've never regretted being a part of Gibbs' team. Striking back at them won't help any of us. Besides, Abby's involvement is going to be hard enough on the agency, if she's charged with being an accessory. I won't drag the agency through the mud by having half my former team arrested."

"I appreciate that, Agent McGee, I really do, and I respect your willingness to sacrifice your career to help your sister. In our line of work, families get shortchanged a great deal. It takes a better man than most to not fall into that trap. Why don't we plan on a temporary assignment for a few months, so you can give yourself some time and space before we make any permanent changes?"

"Thank you, Director Vance." McGee's strain eased with that slight glimmer of hope that he hadn't lost everything.

Vance handed him a stack of forms to sign after he'd quickly scribbled in the dates. Once McGee had signed them, Vance stood up. "Now, you go be with your sister. Drop by first thing in the morning, and I'll have some options for you."

---NCIS---

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind him, McGee pressed the button for the garage level before leaning against the back corner and closing his eyes. Even though he'd hoped to make a clean getaway, it wasn't a surprise when the metal box stopped at the squadroom level and one passenger entered.

"McGee."

"Gibbs." Even without opening his eyes, he'd known before the other man said anything.

The elevator barely moved before Gibbs hit the emergency stop. "You know how I feel about apologies."

"Yeah, I know." Tim reached out to turn the elevator back on, but Gibbs stopped him and McGee finally looked up at him. The sorrow in the suddenly aged face staggered him and he stilled to listen.

Gibbs never took his eyes off Tim as he spoke. "Sometimes they're very necessary. This one is necessary. I made some wrong assumptions, not only about what I overheard, but about you. That's the worst, because you're one of the most honest and honorable men I've ever had the privilege of working with or calling my friend."

"Boss..."

"Am I?" Gibbs reached over and turned the elevator back on. "Can we get past this?"

"I don't know. Right now I have to concentrate on Sarah."

---NCIS---

As soon as the doors closed behind Gibbs, Tony and Ziva were on their feet and heading for the stairs, hoping to catch up with McGee before he left the building. Breathless, they arrived at the garage level to watch the numbers still descending. McGee was startled when he stepped out to come face to face with DiNozzo.

"Tony?"

"Tim, God, I am so sorry. I never meant... please, you've got to know I would never knowingly hurt your sister." Tony was stumbling over himself trying to find a way to earn McGee's trust back.

Tim was feeling too exhausted for this conversation and shook his head. "Tony..."

"Come on, man, don't tell me I've ruined everything. Please, Tim."

"Like I told Gibbs," Tim paused, rubbing his forehead. "I have to make Sarah my only priority right now."

Ziva struggled to find some way to hold the team together. "McGee, let us do something to help."

Anything Tim might have said was interrupted when the elevator doors opened again, this time revealing Detectives Jeffries and Thompson, escorting Abby. She wasn't in handcuffs, he noted, not sure how he felt about that. Abby looked up at them and rushed over to McGee.

"Timmy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for anything bad to happen." Her hands fluttered around McGee, she had enough awareness to know he didn't want to be touched, let alone hugged by her. "Roger and I grew up together, he's always been a nice guy. He wanted me to find him the perfect woman, and I..."

"Abby," Tim stepped further back from her just as Gibbs pulled her back. "I can't deal with you right now. I have to go take care of Sarah." He gave his team mates a sad look before walking away.

---NCIS---

DiNozzo was on his third drink of the night when a familiar voice called out over his shoulder. "Bourbon, neat."

"Gibbs."

"DiNozzo."

Tony wasn't one for silence. "Hell of a day, Boss."

"Yeah, you okay?" Gibbs took a sip as he watched him over the rim of the glass. Tony shook his head before downing the rest of his drink.

"Am I okay? I drove my best friend's little sister to a suicide attempt."

"Have you told him that?"

Tony turned to stare incredulously at the other man. "I think he noticed." He turned back to the bartender and waved him over.

"Not that." Gibbs waited until DiNozzo turned back to face him again. "Have you ever told him he's your best friend?"

"Little late for that."

"You sure?" Gibbs set down his half empty glass and patted Tony on the shoulder. "Think about it."

When Tony shook his head at the bartender, Gibbs turned and started to leave. He got about half way to the door when DiNozzo caught up with him. "Could I get a ride home, Boss?"

"Sure, DiNozzo, let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

**a/n - Aack, I've been trying to upload this chapter since late Friday night. Enjoy.**

"Tony, Ziva," Gibbs held the elevator door open for them as the three of them arrived within moments of each other.

"Morning, Boss."

"Good morning, Gibbs, how did you and Jethro make out last night?"

Gibbs hid his smile behind his coffee cup. The mutt had been surprisingly well behaved, but of course, he was a military dog. "After taking him for a run last night, I know how McGee slimmed down. Three miles and that dog wasn't even panting."

"So that's Probie's secret weapon in his battle of the bulge." DiNozzo's laugh was forced, and the group was quiet the rest of the ride up. Once in the squad room, they turned the corner and found McGee cleaning out his desk. He didn't look up at their approach. Gibbs and Ziva came to a halt, while Tony moved closer.

"Are you ever going to give us a chance to earn your forgiveness?"

Tim didn't look up at them, but he did stop, a picture of team clutched in his hands. "I need to take care of Sarah, get her to her therapist, be available to her when she has a panic attack. I can't do that and be a field agent."

"We can make it work, McGee. Tony and I are willing to pick up the pants." Ziva frowned, knowing that she had not used the right word, but it did get a soft chuckle out of Tim.

"It's slack, Ziva, not pants. Right now I can't work with you guys, I can't deal with the lab. I spoke to Vance this morning, he has asked me to take temporary command of cybercrimes while Jerry is recovering from surgery. It's for three months, and by then I'll be able to make some long term decisions."

"I thought you hated being down in Cybercrimes, McGee?" Tim shrugged, but didn't answer his boss.

Tony wasn't willing to just let him walk away from the team. "Let us help you somehow, McGee."

Since she had not been directly involved in the altercation the day before, Ziva hoped she could be the voice of reason. "You do not have to do this all alone, McGee. If you cannot go to your family, let us help."

Finally Tim looked up at his former team mates and they were horrified to see the bruises across his face. Gibbs was the first to react, shoving his cup at Tony as he crossed over to McGee's desk. Tim had dropped his head back down, but Gibbs reached out and tilted his head back up. "This is more than my handiwork, Tim. Who did this to you?"

"One of... one of Sarah's friends made the decision to call our parents behind her back."

"Your parents?" It took Gibbs a moment to wrap his mind around exactly what was being said. "Your father did this to you? Why?"

"He let Sarah come out here to go to college because I was here to keep an eye on her, to take care of her." Tim stepped back from Gibbs' hand and resumed packing his personal items from the desk.

Gibbs stayed close. "What happened to Sarah was not your fault, McGee."

"Wasn't it?" The raw anguish was painful to hear. "She was there because of Abby, she tried to kill herself because..." He stopped, but his eyes flickered over at Tony. "Anyway, they showed up, and he was furious, told me I was dead to them, that my failure was unforgivable and that they were taking Sarah home with them."

"God, Tim." Behind him, Gibbs heard the murmured protests of the other two.

Tim continued, his voice low and flat, as if he hadn't heard their concern. "Sarah refused, told them that it wasn't my fault and that she was staying here with me. Dad just lost it."

"Tell me you got in a few good licks, yourself."

He finally made eye contact. "Boss, I couldn't, he's my dad."

No, if he were honest with himself, Gibbs couldn't see Tim striking out at his father. "So, they're gone?"

"Yeah, and now I'm all Sarah has left." Tim started pacing in the small space behind his desk. " And if that means that I'm stuck down in that damn little office staring at code for eight hours a day, then so be it. I have to take care of Sarah, I have to protect her, so I don't lose her like..."

His gut told him this was important. "Like who?"

"Did you know I used to have a big sister?" If it were possible, Tim looked even more haunted than before. "She was just fifteen when she got pregnant. I've seen enough bad stuff on the job that, looking back, I have to question the circumstances but Dad just saw red. They didn't find out until the abortion.

"I remember they locked me in my room and went storming after her. When they came back, they wouldn't even let Becky get out of the car. Mom came in and packed her clothes and then they left with her. I never saw her again. By the end of the week, every trace of her was gone out of the house. They even burned her pictures."

Gibbs never considered himself an eloquent man, but he'd never been this lost for words. He couldn't imagine the impact this would have had on the remaining children, to see their sister erased from their existence for what was, at best, a mistake. It all fell into place. The awkward drive for perfection, the constant self-doubt, the timidness that had driven Gibbs up the wall at times were a product of a lifetime of trying to gain the approval of an impossible man. Tim would do anything to defend his sister and nothing to defend himself.

"How old was Sarah when Becky was sent away?"

Tony had a more pressing concern. "They're not going to come back and cause more problems, are they?"

Tim answered Gibbs first before turning to Tony. "Sarah's adopted. She's Becky's replacement, and no, our parents won't be back. Like Dad said, they no longer have any children."

Ziva had always thought her father was coldblooded. Now she realized he was a rank amateur. "What will you do now, McGee?"

"Well, my desk is cleaned out and ready for the next guy, and Roger Harris is in police custody. Now, I take care of Sarah. My landlord has agreed to let me roll my lease over to a larger unit, so we're moving this weekend."

"That's good, do you need some help? We're all good for some manual labor." Tony waved his arms around at the rest of the team. Tim hesitated and Tony realized that he didn't trust them around his baby sister yet.

"I appreciate the offer, Tony, but Sarah... she's just so fragile right now. I've hired a company to move the heavy stuff while she's at her therapy session. I think it will be better if I handle the rest." Tim tried to smile to ease the sting, but found he couldn't. Instead, he picked up his box and stepped around Gibbs, on his way to the elevator.

Once the elevator doors closed, Vance came down from his observation spot on the stairs. He had watched McGee pack up his desk and had planned on reading the rest of the team the riot act. Now he was just as stunned as the rest of them. Not even DiNozzo mounted a protest when Vance stopped in their midst. "You've got three months to fix this, so get to work."

---NCIS---

It was mid-morning before Gibbs ventured down to the lab. It was quiet with no music, and Abby was sitting at her desk, typing her report with one finger while her other hand supported her head. She wasn't wearing any make-up or jewelry and her hair was in a messy bun instead of her traditional pigtails. A woman Gibbs didn't recognize was loading samples into the mass spectrometer. "Abby?"

"Hey, Gibbs." Abby continued her one handed typing.

Gibbs came the rest of the way into her office and pointed over his shoulder. "Who's your guest?"

Abby shrugged. "Don't remember her name, Vance sent her down."

"Why?"

"He's worried a defense attorney might question my judgment, so there needs to be two lab workers on record." She looked up when he didn't say anything right away and saw that he wasn't surprised. "You knew?"

"Suspected. Under the circumstances Vance didn't have a choice, Abby."

"I've really made a mess of things." Now that Gibbs had moved from pure anger to disappointment, Abby wasn't expecting a comment so she continued. "How do I fix it?"

"You can't." Gibbs waited until she looked up in shock. "Not until you understand why you did it in the first place."


	10. Chapter 10

**a/n - Thanks for all the wonderful comments. Couple of things I want to mention. Unless it's listed as part of a series, all of my stories are completely separate, including whatever family background I give Tim. I'm enjoying working through my different theories about his parents. I didn't put in the confrontation between Tim and his father because it didn't fit the flow of the story, but mainly I want the shock the team is experiencing about the McGee family to also be felt by the readers. All these years, and they never dreamed the truths about McGee's insecurities. Innocence has been shattered all the way around, as you will see in the next few chapters.**

Tim finished taping a box of books shut and tossed the empty tape dispenser into the garbage. He couldn't quite believe how many books he'd accumulated since he'd moved to DC. Tired and sore, he stretched his neck as he took a break, sitting on the floor. Sarah came in, settling next to him. "I'm sorry, Tim."

He looked at her in surprise. "For what? You have nothing to be sorry about, Sarah." She waved her arms around at the stacks of boxes he'd been packing up all week.

"Look at this, you have to move because I'm too scared to be back at the dorms. It's because of me that Mom and Dad disowned you, and..."

"No, now wait a minute. None of this is your fault, Sarah. You were the one that was hurt." Tim shifted to sit cross legged on the floor, facing her. "I should have moved years ago. We both know I've outgrown this tiny apartment, I just..."

"Don't like change." Sarah's laugh was watery, and Tim's wasn't much better when he joined in a few seconds later.

"Yeah, I don't like change, and Mom and Dad, I think that was inevitable. Their expectations and beliefs, nobody could live up to those standards forever."

"And now you've lost your team and Abby..."

That was something he wasn't ready to discuss. "Abby made her own decisions."

Sarah reached out and squeezed Tim's hand like he used to do for her when she was a child. "It hurt you."

Tim returned the squeeze. "Yeah, but it hurt you worse." Sarah seemed unsettled by the changes and what she perceived as sacrifices, so he tried to encourage her. "Hey, we've got each other, we're going to be okay."

"I wonder where she is right now."

He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. It may have been forbidden to mention Becky's name in the McGee house, but that hadn't stopped Tim from making sure his baby sister knew all about their older sister. He'd made a game out of it when she was little, telling Sarah about the strange and exotic places Becky might be living in.

"I bet she's in Morocco, having high tea with the King." It made her giggle, as he knew it would.

---NCIS---

It was after midnight when Gibbs left MTAC and found DiNozzo still at his desk. Gibbs circled around to catch the other man unaware, squinting at the computer screen as he came closer. "Working pretty late, DiNozzo."

Tony jumped before turning around with a plastered on grin. "Hey, Boss, didn't hear you. Yeah, just..." Whatever he was about to tell Gibbs was interrupted when his computer chirped. Both men looked at it to see the results of an unsuccessful search through DMV records for a Rebecca McGee.

"She could have married, changed her name." This time both DiNozzo and Gibbs were startled by the voice that came up behind them. Leon Vance was standing there, pulling his coat on. "You might have better luck trying to trace her Social Security number."

"Sir?" DiNozzo was expecting a reaming for using agency resources.

"I'd rather you tracked down his missing sister than go have a smackdown with his father." Vance gave a pointed look to Gibbs. "I have no problem with this as long as it doesn't interfere with your caseload."

Tony nodded vigorously and Vance's voice softened. "Finding McGee's missing sister will probably go a long ways towards fixing things before I have to deal with a permanent assignment for him. Keep me posted."

---NCIS---

Having checked and determined that the movers were arriving at McGee's at 0800, Ziva arrived at Tony's at 0700, waking him up. She smirked and teased him until he was dressed and down in her car, which was filled with cleaning supplies. "We're going to McGee's to help him."

Tony reached over and took the key out of the ignition. "He doesn't want our help, and I, for one, am trying to learn to listen to him, Ziva."

The Israeli woman had thought it through. "He is not ready to have us at his new place, but we can clean his old apartment for him so he does not have to come back and do that. We can offer, we keep offering, we keep letting him know that we care until he is ready to let us back in. Are you with me?"

He mulled it over before handing the key ring back. "Yeah, I'm with you."

A familiar yellow Charger pulled in behind Ziva's car when they arrived at McGee's apartment complex. Tony watched in the rear view mirror as the driver climbed out and grabbed a tool box from the trunk. Ziva shook her head before Tony could ask anything. "I did not talk to Gibbs about this."

"And people wonder why we've never given the Boss a surprise party."

By an unspoken agreement, Tony and Gibbs fell back and let Ziva take the lead when they arrived at McGee's apartment. As she explained that they were there to clean his old apartment so he didn't have to, Tim seemed uncertain about accepting their help. Eventually Tony stepped in.

"We understand that you don't trust any of us right now to be around Sarah, we really do, but let us do this for you. Right now you should be with Sarah, getting settled in and unpacked, not worrying about this place." He waited, convinced that if Tim was able to meet them half way on this, then they had a chance to eventually rebuild the team.

Finally Tim gave a slight nod. "Yeah, okay, that would help. Thanks, guys." He took a key off his keychain and handed it to Ziva. "In case you finish while I'm picking Sarah up from her session."

Gibbs and the others stepped out of the way as two of the movers came out of the door with a wooden headboard. He watched as they took it down the stairs, across the parking lot and up two flights of stairs in the building on the other side. "Did you save any money by not using a truck?"

The casual, teasing question seemed to help as McGee gave the first real smile they had seen since the beginning of this nightmare. "Not as much as I had hoped. Besides, their truck is out back. They didn't have any other way of getting the crew here."

---NCIS---

For a bachelor pad, McGee's apartment was surprisingly clean, as Ziva cheerfully mentioned to DiNozzo. Gibbs grinned, but didn't turn away from the wall where he was carefully removing wall anchors and patching the holes they left behind. He remembered a landlord back in his own bachelor days that actually counted the nail and screw holes left in the wall and charged the former tenants for their repair. Between the three of them, they had the apartment finished just as the last box was carted off.

Gibbs dialed his phone as DiNozzo was locking the apartment door. "Hey, we're all done. What apartment are you in? We'll drop the key off before we leave." On the other end of the call there was only a slight hesitation before he was given the new apartment number.

Tim was back on the phone when he opened the door to them, and was obviously not happy with the person on the other end. Tony waited until he was finished. "Problems?"

"I bought some new furniture that's supposed to be delivered this afternoon and they managed to damage the sofa getting it onto the truck."

"What, they don't have another one in stock?"

Tony thought about telling Gibbs that most furniture stores weren't like Sears, where they have a stockpile, but he hadn't had his head slapped all day and he was hoping for a record. Instead, he waited for Tim's answer.

"They have one that's the same style and the same fabric, but it's two feet longer." Tim turned to glare at the blank wall in the partially furnished living room. "Two feet means I've got to move the bookcase."

McGee owned the largest bookcase DiNozzo had ever seen, and someone had been very efficiently replacing all the books, records and treasures it housed. Empty, it would be difficult for one person to move. Partially filled it would be impossible, and removing everything again would be a chore. He knew what his boss was going to say before the man even opened his mouth.

"Two feet, that's all? Tony and I'll give you a hand while we're here."

Sarah took one look at the bookcase and shielded her eyes as she headed into the kitchen. "I am so not watching this." Ziva decided she had the right idea and followed Sarah.

Not watching what was happening in the living room meant they were staring at the boxes that filled the kitchen. The wrist brace limited what Sarah could lift, so Ziva began unpacking the boxes of dishes and placing them in the cupboards as Sarah began with the glasses. While the men were occupied, Ziva took the chance to talk to the young woman, hoping to get her to open up.

"I have always been glad when my bruises fade so I can cover them with make-up when I go out. It makes me feel more in control when I am around people I do not know."

Sarah reached up and touched the green and yellow marks still visible on the side of her face. "My make-up is still at the dorm. I don't want to see my roommate right now, and I don't want to ask Tim to deal with her either."

"She is the one that called your parents?"

"Yeah." Sarah chewed on her lower lip and Ziva waited, realizing that she was working up to something. "Tim never told me details about Somalia, but after, well now I can kind of fill in some of the blanks."

Ziva nodded, allowing Sarah to work through her questions at her own pace.

"How did you do it? I mean, you're strong and confident and not afraid of anything. I used to be that way and I don't have a clue how to get it back."

"I wish I could tell you that it is easy. Time helps, and people you trust and feel safe around. Your brother was a wonderful support for me during my first few months back in America." Ziva glanced up at the three men trying to look busy in the other room, giving them time to talk. "Each of them had their own way, but all of my team helped me. Perhaps the biggest help was finding a therapy group I was comfortable with. Sometimes it is very difficult to talk about such personal things with total strangers, but a friend of mine runs this group and she invited me. If you would like, you can come with me when you are ready, and afterward we can stop by your dorm and pick up some of your things." Ziva's attention returned briefly to McGee's battered face. "I would like very much to speak to your roommate."


	11. Chapter 11

**a/n - A short chapter, but again, it needed to stand alone. I may get the next chapter up today, we'll see. It's a rather major chapter (read, you'll really like it) and I will need both the grandbabies to go down for naps at the same time. Cross your fingers for ****synchronized nappage.**

Since the two women were deep in conversation as they unpacked the kitchen, Tony began taking more books out of the boxes and handing them to Tim. Gibbs asked for a quick run down on where he wanted the wall mounted shelves and speakers before he, too, got to work. Working together, they had a great deal of the apartment set up when the truck from the furniture store arrived. Under Tim's supervision the second bedroom was set up, while Tony watched over the placement of the new living room set and dining table. Adopting the voice and mannerisms of a flamboyant designer, he had Gibbs rolling his eyes and Sarah giggling before the baffled and slightly embarrassed delivery men made their escape.

"Tim, it would have taken us days to get this much done. The least we can do is feed them." Sarah's proclamation surprised Tim, but then he realized that although she was staying very close to Ziva, she didn't seem nearly as jumpy around Tony and Gibbs as she had when they first arrived.

Not only that, but she was right. Just not having to go up and down while unpacking all the books had saved not only time but probably his knees as well. "Sure, why don't I order some pizza?" Gibbs and Ziva seemed pleased with the invitation, but Tony seemed nervous.

"Before you do, I need to talk to Sarah first. She may not want me to stay." Tony held his hand out towards one of the new overstuffed chairs now angled off to the side of the sofa. Now unsure of herself, Sarah sat down, pulling her knees up under her chin and watching him closely.

Gibbs and McGee both knew what was coming, but were concerned it was too soon.

"DiNozzo, this might not be the best time."

"Tony..."

"No, I did something stupid and Sarah has the right to know. I don't want her to feel like anyone's lied to her or tried to cover up my mistake."

Sarah's arms tightened around her legs, but her voice was steady. "All right, I'm listening."

Now that he'd committed himself, DiNozzo wasn't quite sure where to start. He sat across from Sarah, his arms resting on his knees, and his hands twisting together in front of him. As was his norm, he started talking with the hope that his brain would catch up at some point. "Ever since the first case we worked together, your brother has put up with a lot of crap from me, and half the time I don't even know why I do it. He's the only person that really puts up with me, more than anybody that I've ever called a friend, more than my dad, heck even more than Gibbs, and I've never told him how much that means to me, how important he is to me."

Gibbs carefully watched all of his 'kids'. Ziva was observing as closely as he was, as Tim shifted nervously, watching both Tony and Sarah. The young man's insecurities had been brought to the forefront by the events of the last few weeks and he seemed stunned by Tony's admissions. If Tony were to look around, he would have seen how much his words were affecting Tim, but Tony's attention was solely on Sarah, who had yet to even blink.

"I've never been able to tell him, so I try to take care of him, but he's pretty independent and he's always got be the strong one." Tony hesitated as Sarah gave a quiet sob, but she nodded her agreement as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the oversized sweatshirt of her brother's that she was wearing. "I go behind his back sometimes to make sure he's okay, and that's what I did the other day. I knew something was really tearing him apart, but he wouldn't tell me what was wrong, so I broke into his place to try and figure out what was wrong."

"It was you that I heard."

Tony hung his head at Sarah's whispered realization. "Yeah, it was me. God, Sarah, I'm so, so sorry. I saw the pregnancy test box and all I could think was that he was in trouble and he didn't come to me or to the Boss and I just lost it. I was trying to do the right thing to help my friend, and instead I almost killed you and I destroyed the best friendship I'll ever have." He scrubbed at his eyes and took a deep breath before finishing. "I'll understand if you don't want me around, because right now you need people around you that you trust and feel safe with and I probably don't exactly fit the bill anymore."

Sarah bowed her head, resting her forehead on her knees and Tony climbed to his feet, preparing to leave. He stopped when she started to speak. "There is absolutely no way," Tony winced and made no effort to wipe at the tear forming in the corner of his eye, "that they are going to have the pizza toppings I like and I think my brother should get us all Chinese food." She looked up at Tony and smiled even though her bottom lip was trembling. "But I think you should pitch in and order egg rolls."

"Yeah? Yeah, I can do that. I'd like to do that."


	12. Chapter 12

**a/n - As you may have guessed, nappage was unsuccessful yesterday. Now, you get to see the "real" reason Tim's fight with his father was off-camera, so to speak.**

David Jeffries wasn't all that surprised to find Gibbs waiting at his desk when he arrived Monday morning. Some in the law enforcement field called him a legend, while others called him a nightmare. Jeffries was just glad he had the suspect locked up and didn't have to worry about Gibbs tearing up the city looking for him. Now to make sure the older man understood that. "Good morning, Agent Gibbs. Bail was denied for Roger Harris, he's not going anywhere."

"That's good to know. How is the case against him coming? Is Abby cooperating with the investigation?"

"We've got DNA and strong witnesses. Your man's little sister has a good eye for detail. She'll do well on the witness stand." Jeffries knew Gibbs still had one question that was unanswered. "Miss Sciuto is unhappy, but she's been cooperating with us."

"If that changes at all, I want you to tell me and I'll deal with it." Gibbs tossed his empty cup in the trash and started to stand.

"Of course. Now, has Agent McGee changed his mind about filing charges against his father?"

Gibbs dropped back down into his chair. "He told you what happened?"

"We arrived at the tail end of it. Since the hospital security camera caught the whole thing, I've half a mind to file charges even without his support." Jeffries shook his head. He felt protective of all the victims he dealt with, but the McGee siblings were rapidly moving to the top of the list.

"You have the video?"

"Of course. On the off-chance that Agent McGee changed his mind, we wanted to make sure we had all the evidence possible, and..."

Gibbs didn't give him a chance to finish. "Show me." When Jeffries hesitated, Gibbs leaned into his personal space. "That wasn't a question, Detective. Show me the video of the attack on my agent."

Jeffries stood this time and pointed the way to where they kept their video equipment set up. Truthfully, he hoped seeing the footage would push the older man to encourage his agent to press charges. They had transferred the video tape to a DVD and he quickly had it queued up.

Gibbs chose a chair close to the screen as the image cleared. The hospital corridor was empty; as he watched, two people stepped off the elevator. It was immediately evident that time had not been good to Phillip McGee. He and his wife walked part way down the hallway before entering a room. A few minutes later Tim came out, followed by his father. His mother brought up the rear and continued on after the two men stopped. Even though there was no audio, Gibbs could see Tim call out to his mother, who just held a hand up as she returned to the elevator. He watched, transfixed as Tim's shoulders slumped in apparent defeat as his mother so obviously turned her back on her son. When the first blow came, Tim made no effort to protect himself as he father continued to backhand him. Even with the limitations of the black and white images Gibbs could tell when the third blow broke open the already damaged lip that Gibbs felt so guilty about.

"Where in the hell is everybody? Why isn't anyone coming to help him?"

"My understanding is that security had been called at this point. A couple of nurses met us at the elevator when we arrived." Jeffries turned to the older man. He had a suspicion where the earlier bruises had come from, and he wanted to find out exactly how Tim would fare with his former team still in his life. "What I'm not sure of is how Agent McGee was originally injured." He reached out and paused the playback. "Do we need to be worried about any continuing danger to Agent McGee?"

Gibbs stared at the frozen image of a beaten McGee, his father's hand poised to strike again. It wasn't the bloodied lip or the rapidly swelling marks on his face that would haunt Gibbs' dreams, it was the look of abandonment on his face. After all the years, all the cases, all the times Tim McGee had been there for his team, Gibbs was looking at a young man who felt he had no one to turn to. His words were so soft, Jeffries could barely hear him. "No, no continuing danger." When Jeffries moved to resume the playback, Gibbs shook his head. "I don't need to see any more."

Still observing him, Jeffries reached out and pressed the play button. "Actually, I think you do."

Movement resumed on the screen and that now hated hand made contact one more time, but it was what happened behind Tim that caught Gibbs' attention. Sarah came stumbling out of her hospital room, using the IV pole as a support, reaching out to her father. He didn't need to be able to read lips to recognize the plaintive 'Daddy, please'.

The senior McGee turned his fury on his youngest daughter, but his fist never made contact as Tim grabbed his father's hand. Gibbs watched, pride overriding horror as Tim's grip on his father's hand tightened and eventually brought him to his knees. Even kneeling on the floor, Phillip was yelling at his son, while Sarah was clinging to Tim's back. Whatever Tim said to his father, he was deadly calm as he shoved the man back into the arms of the arriving Jeffries and Thompson before turning and picking Sarah up. A nurse arrived to help with the IV pole as he carried her back into the room. Jeffries and Thompson dragged Phillip McGee the other direction and suddenly the corridor was empty again.

Gibbs leaned heavily against the table, his hand pressed against his mouth, as Jeffries turned off the video equipment. It took a concentrated effort to sit up and lay his hands on the surface of the table. "I need a copy of that."

"Why?"

Ice blue eyes turned on Jeffries, telling him how deadly serious Gibbs was at that moment. "We have resources you don't."

As he burned a copy for Gibbs, Jeffries decided he really didn't want to know any more than that.

---NCIS---

Tony stepped off the elevator in cybercrimes, a paper bag clutched in his hand. He searched around the crowded room in the sub-basement and found McGee sitting at a desk, already hard at work. He cleared his throat when he reached the desk, not speaking until Tim looked up at him. "Hope you don't mind, it was my turn to buy and I couldn't not order yours." Tony handed over the bag. "I got you orange juice too. You don't get any sunlight down here, we can't have you getting a goiter on us." He grinned and waited.

Tim couldn't help but return the grin. "Actually, Tony, that would be rickets. A lack of sunlight causes rickets, not a goiter. However, a deficiency in vitamin C can cause scurvy, so thanks." He waved the plastic bottle before pulling a breakfast burrito out of the bag.

"See, you've always been the brains of the outfit. Just remember, you're not chained to that desk, you can come up and see us once in a while. Okay?" Tony's grin had transitioned to a hopeful and tentative smile.

"Okay." Tim gave a nod before DiNozzo moved away. "Hey, Tony?" Tim waited for Tony to turn back around. "Thanks... for everything."

---NCIS---

DiNozzo returned from his trip to cybercrimes just as Gibbs arrived from the police station. Tony was in a good mood, convinced that his friendship with McGee would survive, while Gibbs was pacing in obvious anger and frustration. The other agents in the squadroom quickly found reasons to leave and within two minutes, the room was empty except for the remaining members of Gibbs' team.

"You two with me; you need to see this too." Gibbs took the stairs two at a time up to the Director's office while Tony and Ziva scrambled to catch up. Ziva had been closer, but Tony's legs were longer, so they arrived at Vance's office at the same time. "Here, put this on the plasma."

Ziva took the disc that Gibbs thrust at her and quickly brought it up onto the plasma mounted on the wall. Gibbs didn't offer any explanation, but as soon as McGee came into view they knew what they were looking at. The plasma was much larger than the television at the police station and Gibbs found he couldn't watch it again, especially with that much extra detail. Standing at the window, listening to the gasps and curses of the other three was more than enough this time as every frame of the footage was firmly in his memory.

"Tell me what you need, Jethro." Vance continued to stare at the screen after the video footage ended, wondering if he had time to slip home and hug his kids before they went to school.

"I want his parents flagged." Gibbs finally turned away from the window. "If they comes anywhere near Tim or Sarah, I want to know about it."

Vance had come to recognize that expression. "What happens if they do?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."


	13. Chapter 13

**a/n - The healing begins, at least for some. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews.**

It had only taken a few days for Tim to get back into the groove of working in cybercrimes, a few more days before he remembered exactly why he had hated it the last time. The daily highlights were the visits from his former teammates. Either Tony or Ziva managed to drop into cybercrimes almost every day. The visits were never long, but the pat on the back or the kiss on the cheek left a glow he carried with him for hours.

Then there was Gibbs. The morning after Tony had brought him breakfast, a cup of coffee from Gibbs' favorite coffee shop was sitting on his desk when he arrived. It had become a daily occurrence. No matter how early or late Tim arrived, the coffee was there, hot and fresh. A second cup would arrive sometime in the afternoon, always when McGee was away from his desk. McGee was even more convinced the man was psychic. Even if he'd had Tim's desk bugged, there was no way he could make the round trip to the coffee shop and back in the time it took to walk to the men's room.

Tim smiled as he picked up this afternoon's cup and returned to what he was working on. Somewhere in this seven hundred gigabyte hard drive filled with compressed and encrypted files was one line of code that he needed to find. Between that and babysitting the dozen geeks under his temporary command, it was going to be a long three months he realized, as Alice announced loudly that someone had stolen her favorite pen from her desk. He took another grateful swallow of coffee before standing up to solve the case of the missing pen, because Alice Bradshaw couldn't crack code without her purple flower pen clenched in her teeth.

Upstairs, Ziva tossed her standard issue pen onto her desk before approaching Gibbs. She had signed the last of her reports and was ready to turn them in to Gibbs. He raised an eyebrow at having the paperwork so quickly.

"I don't think DiNozzo's even started his report on the Donaldson case." Gibbs looked over at DiNozzo to find him balancing his standard issue pen on the bridge of his nose.

Ziva smiled briefly at her partner's antics before turning back to Gibbs, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear. Gibbs and the Director were both aware of her group therapy sessions every Wednesday, but she still felt uncomfortable bringing it up. "Sarah is going with me tonight. I hope to pick her up early so we can have dinner before the session."

"If we don't catch a case this afternoon, you can take off early. Don't scare her to death with your normal driving." Gibbs was pointing a finger, but he had a slight smile.

Gibbs sent Ziva on her way at 1630 and Tony thirty minutes later. As soon as DiNozzo cleared the squad room, Gibbs started shutting down his own computer, but instead of heading to his car, Gibbs went down to the sub-basement.

Gibbs came around the corner and watched McGee interacting with two of his subordinates. He recognized the man as one that Vance was considering letting go as he was unable to work well with anyone he'd been assigned to. The woman he didn't know, nor did he know why she was shaking a purple pen in the mans' face. Whatever McGee said seemed to calm her down and she returned to her workstation.

"Hey, McGee."

"Boss... Gibbs? What are you doing down here?" Tim glanced down at his watch. It was the end of the work day for cybercrimes and his daily afternoon coffee had arrived hours ago.

"Heard you're on your own tonight, McGee. Let's grab some dinner."

Tim wasn't sure if he followed the older man because of habit, because of hunger, or because Gibbs picked up Tim's backpack and walked out with it. Before he knew it, they were at Guapo's with large platters of Carne' Asada and a pitcher of beer on the table.

"So how are you doing?"

"Sarah's getting better. She's been in contact with all of her professors, and all but one are letting her work totally from home, so she had to just drop that one class."

Gibbs gave a sad smile. He wasn't surprised by McGee's answer. He was pretty sure he hadn't faced the impact all of this had had on him. "I'm glad to hear that, but I was asking about you. How are you, Tim, honestly?"

"It's been a pretty rough couple of weeks." Tim stared at the patterns of foam on the glass as he swirled his beer. "I guess I didn't realize how isolated I would feel."

"What about the rest of your family, or have your parents cut you off from everyone?" Gibbs couldn't imagine that the rest of Tim's family would have the same attitude as his parents, but then he'd been totally blindsided by his parent's reaction.

The soft chuckle was slightly bitter. "My father has a rather dominate personality. Up until that day in the hospital, nobody's ever stood up to him. The rest of the family is probably still in hiding, waiting for the fallout."

Gibbs watched the emotions flicker across Tim's face, the expressive eyes not quite able to hide the pain. "Has he always been like that?"

"Becky was the rebel, I was the disappointment. Sarah was their one last hope." By the time he quieted, Tim was again staring down into his glass.

"McGee, you have a degree from MIT and another one from John Hopkins. You graduated from FLETC at the top of your class, you were the youngest agent to ever be certified as a full field agent, and as a hobby, you wrote a best selling novel. How could any father be disappointed?"

"I'm not an athlete, Boss. I had no interest in playing football, was too slow for basketball, and was a third string outfielder in baseball." Tim laughed and shook his head. "I did okay in wrestling, but that was more stubbornness than skill. I just wouldn't let go."

Gibbs had to laugh at that, too. "I must admit you're one of the most tenacious men I've ever met. It's part of what makes you a good agent, Tim."

Tim was visibly stunned by the comment. "Umm, thanks. Anyways, the final straw was when I turned down the Naval Academy."

"You turned down Annapolis?" Gibbs almost choked on his beer. "That's not in your file. So, what, you chose MIT over the Academy?"

"I was too young for the Academy when I started at MIT. Dad's plan was for me to do two years at MIT and then apply. He even left Mom and Sarah back home and moved to Boston my second year there to supervise my physical training. It was... difficult."

Knowing now what he did about Tim's father, Gibbs suspected that difficult was an understatement. "How far into the application process did you get?" Tim was looking noticeably gaunt and Gibbs nudged his plate closer to encourage him to eat more. He did stab a piece of meat before he answered.

"All the way. I was accepted, Dad was thrilled, but..." Tim shrugged as he set his fork back down. "Even if I was able to convince myself that I wanted to spend the next thirty years on a boat, I couldn't convince myself that I wanted to spend those thirty years being thought of as a younger version of my father. I'm sure that by now you've read his file."

A copy of Phillip McGee's service record was actually in a drawer in Gibbs' desk. After skirting formal charges multiple times Commander McGee had been shunted to a small office where his career had stalled, but he was well away from the young sailors he loved to verbally abuse. No one in the Navy had ever considered that he'd transferred his anger and hostility to his wife and children. Gibbs gave a slow nod. "After we found out what happened with your parents, Vance pulled the file. So what happened after you chose MIT over the Naval Academy?"

"You mean, what did my dad do?" He glanced up at Gibbs before returning his attention to the pattern of the tablecloth. "Well, he said that if I was going to throw away a perfectly good, government paid education, then he wasn't going to waste any more money on me."

"You had to put yourself through college? How'd you do it?"

"Scholarships, grants, loans, and a whole lot of part time jobs. After I finished my undergrad, it was easier because I became a teaching fellow. That gave me a tuition waver and a stipend to live on." Tim looked down at his watch and frowned.

Gibbs tapped his fork on the edge of McGee's plate. "Ziva's going to stay with her until you get there, and she promised Sarah that I would make sure you ate, so eat." He waited until most of Tim's plate was clean before asking the one question that had been eating at him. "What are you going to do about your parents? Jeffries wants you to press charges against your father."

"Yeah, he called about it again today." Tim rubbed his forehead. "I won't do it, Boss. Even if I wanted to drag the family through something like that... Sarah already is having to face one trial when Roger Harris goes to court, I can't put her through a second one on top of that."

---NCIS---

"Sarah, are you ready?" Ziva watched her passenger as she fidgeted in the seat. They were parked outside the dorm. "If you would prefer, I could go in and get your things."

"No, I can do this." Sarah took a deep breath and opened the car door. From the other side of the car, Ziva exited and joined her on the walkway. Several of the girls studying in the lobby smiled and nodded at the two women, but no one stopped them. Once they were in the hallway of the second floor, Sarah dug her keys out of her backpack.

Lisa looked up as Sarah and Ziva came into the room. "Sarah, I was so worried. You left the hospital and you weren't answering your phone, and..."

"I just came to get more of my stuff." Sarah turned her back on Lisa and started pulling clothes out of her dresser. Ziva stayed close, but didn't say anything.

"Are you mad at me Sarah? Is it because I called your parents? I just though you needed..."

"You thought? No, you didn't think at all, that's the problem." Sarah spun around and threw a handful of t-shirts on the bed. "If you had thought, you might have wondered why I didn't want them to know." Sarah returned to her packing, her voice getting louder as she refused to look at Lisa. "Not all of us have parents like you, Lisa. I can't go to my parents and feel safe. My brother is the one that I go to when I'm in trouble, he's the one that makes me feel safe, and they beat him for it." Spent, Sarah buried her face in her hands as the tears came. "Daddy beat Tim because of what happened to me."

Ziva watched the outburst carefully, knowing how cathartic it could be. When Sarah sagged, Ziva was there to wrap her arms around the younger woman, remembering when she was at this stage of the healing process. While Sarah clung to her, Ziva turned to the stunned roommate. "Their father became violent at the hospital. I do not know what you told them, but he would have attacked Sarah as well."

"No."

"Yes. Your decision to interfere could have become deadly. Was being right that important to you?"

"I didn't mean..."

"What? You did not mean to go behind Sarah's back? You did not mean to break your promise? Or was it that you did not mean to get caught? You expected to be the hero, that Sarah and her brother would be grateful that you interfered?" The flash of guilt told Ziva when she was right. "Good or bad, there are very few parents that are alike. Deciding that you knew more than Sarah was not only wrong, it was childish."

Giving up on the naive girl, Ziva helped Sarah to pack up the rest of her belongings. Lisa stood, watching, silent until they were almost to the door. "Are you ever going to forgive me, Sarah?"

Sarah stopped at the door, but didn't turn around. "Because of you, my brother was hurt. Nobody hurts my brother, Lisa. Nobody."

---NCIS---

They were parked next to each other, so Gibbs leaned against his own car as he watched McGee unlock his. He waited until the other man was in his car before stepping close. Tim rolled down the window as Gibbs leaned close. "If your parents make any attempt to contact you or Sarah, I want to know about it. I don't want you to try to handle it on your own." When it looked like McGee was going to protest, Gibbs reached in and lightly cuffed the back of his head. "It doesn't matter what desk you're sitting at, McGee, you're still part of my team, you got that?"

"Yeah, I got it, Boss."

---NCIS---

As Ziva pulled into the parking lot at McGee's apartment, they could see Tim coming out the apartment door with Jethro on a leash. They both smiled at the antics of the dog and his owner, as Jethro circled around him several times before trotting to the stairs. He was out of sight as he went down the stairs, and Sarah turned to Ziva. "How did you know the details of what happened at the hospital? I can't see Tim telling anyone."

"No, he did not tell us any details. There was a security camera that recorded the whole event." Ziva watched Sarah's reaction closely. She was beginning to realize how much like herself Sarah was. "Detective Jeffries gave a copy to Gibbs. He hoped that Gibbs would talk your brother into pressing charges."

Sarah seemed sad as she shook her head. "Tim won't do that because he thinks it will hurt me."

"Despite what has happened, you are very lucky to have a brother like McGee." Ziva refused to think about her own brother, long buried. "Shall we join him while he takes Jethro for a walk?"

---NCIS---

Leon Vance grumbled as he returned to Headquarters after a long meeting with the SecNav. If he'd remembered the file he needed to look over tonight, he could have gone straight home. He took the elevator straight up to his office floor and quickly retrieved the file. On his way back to the elevator he looked down at the semi-dark squadroom. The desk light was on at DiNozzo's desk and he was bent over his keyboard. Suspicious as to the nature of his work, Vance took the stairs down to join him.

"Any luck finding Rebecca McGee?"

Tony jumped slightly, the man was like a cat when he wanted to be. "Actually, I've found a dozen current and former Rebecca McGee's. Now I just have to figure out which is the one we want. I'm going back to when her parents kicked her out, see if I can track her that way. I might need to talk to somebody that knew the family back then, but that would be other Navy families."

"As far as I'm concerned, the investigation into Phillip McGee's assault on his son is still ongoing. I have no problem with needing more background for the case." Vance shoved a toothpick into his mouth. "Just let me know what you need."


	14. Chapter 14

**a/n - Thank you for all the wonderful comments. We've still got a ways to go, but I can see the end from here, so that's a good thing :) Healing takes time and time is passing for our gang. Is change in the air? **

**My one real complaint about the show is how unevenly they write the characters sometimes. Abby is the best example. Is the Abby from Dog Tags even remotely the same Abby from Caged? Imagine my surprise when I took all the different aspects they've given her over the years and compared them to a listing of personality disorders. I thought there might be something close. I never expected her to be a poster child for one of them. Today you get to see a bit of that.**

Even with the promised normal shifts, it was a bit later than normal when McGee left cybercrimes on Friday night. Alice had her pen back again, and all was right in cyberworld again. Tim laughed to himself as he waited for the elevator, enjoying the peace while it lasted. Next week he had to submit evaluations on the geeks he was working with, including Alice and her protagonist, Norm. After watching him pester her for the last three weeks, he realized that they were the geek version of Tony and Ziva, but he was going to keep that little tidbit to himself.

Tonight, Sarah and Ziva were taking Jethro for a run and he'd been ordered to bring dinner home for the three of them. Now that the visible marks had all healed and the wrist brace was no longer necessary, Ziva was helping him slowly pull Sarah back out into the world. Sparks of the old, feisty Sarah were beginning to show, and he was grateful.

The elevator stopped on the way to the main level. Tim didn't look up right away, but the familiar scent of Patchouli oil and gunpowder told him who was now sharing the ride with him. He finally looked up to see the familiar green eyes staring at him. "Abby."

"Hey, McGee." She fidgeted with her ring as the elevator slowly climbed. "How's Sarah?"

Tim let his eyes shift over until he was staring at the door, willing it to open. "She's recovering physically, but it's going to be a long road."

Abby nodded sadly, as she too, turned to face the door. "I never meant for her to get hurt." When she didn't get an answer she continued to ramble, needing to fill the empty space. "He's been calling me from jail, but I won't take any of his calls." They arrived at the main floor and the quiet ding signaled the opening of the doors. McGee stepped out, but stopped just in the lobby.

"I just wish you had stopped talking to him a lot sooner, Abby."

---NCIS---

"Probie, you've got to help me." Tony's arrival in cybercrimes was actually a pleasant break from the search for the elusive line of code was was still tracking. "I've been trying to figure out the financial trail for this weapons ring for like, forever. Gibbs is going to kill me if I don't get some results for him soon." The moment McGee's hand moved, he dropped the file into it.

Tim skimmed the file that had been shoved at him, not sure what the panic was. "Tony, you guys just caught the case a few days ago. Some searches take time."

"Four days, McGee, four days without a lead. That is forever in Gibbs-speak. You gotta help me out, man." Tony put on his best pleading puppy dog expression and waited while McGee hung his head.

The three computers linked together on his desk could easily handle what DiNozzo was asking him to do, and the quick glance he'd had of the file told McGee of another half dozen ways to track the purchases that Tony hadn't thought of yet. "Yeah, sure." Before he could pull up another window to start the search, DiNozzo's phone rang. He listened with one ear as Tony tried to explain to Gibbs why he was in the sub-basement instead of his desk.

When Tony finally hung up he grabbed McGee's sleeve. "The Boss wants this done upstairs."

"Tony, I..." One look at the pleading face and Tim caved. "All right, fine." He locked his workstation as he stood and pointed at Norm. "You, stay at your desk and concentrate on those encryptions." Next, he looked at Alice, sitting across from Norm. "I want you to show me your progress on the coding when I get back." She nodded and bit down on her pen as she returned to her work.

McGee had his head buried in the file when they stepped off the elevator. Tony followed closely, but instinctively Tim found his way to his old desk without ever looking up. The surface was as empty as the day he had packed up and Tim finally looked at Tony and Ziva. "It's been a month, why don't you guys have a replacement yet?"

Tony glanced over at Ziva before checking behind him, but Gibbs was nowhere to be seen at the moment. "We've been through five TAD's since you went to the sub-basement. Gibbs chews them up and spits them out faster than Vance can bring them in."

"I believe Director Vance has given up on sending any more."

He heard what they weren't saying as easily as what they were. His place on the team was secure as long as there was any possibility he would return. When he'd asked for the transfer, he was convinced that he would never want that; now he wasn't so sure at all. The unspoken statement remained that way. "Thanks, guys."

By the time Gibbs returned with coffee, McGee had the answers they needed. He scribbled down the address and handed it to DiNozzo as Tony was retrieving his weapon from the drawer.

Tony grinned as he looked at the note. "Hey, you want to go with us?

It was tempting. It was so tempting that Tim's hand was half way to the desk drawer where he had kept his own weapon before he realized what he was doing. "I can't. Remember, that's why I asked to move downstairs."

He was right, of course, and none of them argued with him, but they all noticed his abortive reach and left with a smile. Up on the catwalk Director Vance watched the exchange, then continued to watch as McGee slowly stood up and gave a longing look to the squadroom before he returned downstairs.

"Agent McGee? The Director tells me that you are covering for Jerry down in cybercrimes. Is that right?" Tim stepped off the elevator to come face to face with Marcie from legal.

"I am, is there a problem?"

"No problem, exactly, he was just behind in his paperwork. I left some files on your desk that he didn't get to before his surgery. I hate to rush you, but I need them before the end of the week."

"Sure, Marcie, I'll get right on it." Tim gave her a polite smile as he passed her, a smile that remained on his face until he walked around the corner and saw the pile of folders on his desk that towered over his monitor. Then he saw the box on his chair and the two additional boxes on the floor. "Oh, crap."

---NCIS---

"Tony, go see if Abby has any results on that powder yet." The ink was hardly dry on the weapons ring before they had caught a possible drug smuggling case. With a nod to Gibbs, the senior agent left, making a quick detour for a Caf-Pow and a diet soda on his way to the lab.

Test results were still pending, so after delivering the diet soda to the new lab worker and the Caf-Pow to Abby, Tony turned to leave.

"Tony, wait." He stopped and turned, waiting while she set the Caf-Pow on her desk. "I saw McGee last week, and he looked tired. How is he, really?"

Instead of answering immediately, he sat on the edge of her desk and watched her. There were changes in Abby. It was subtle if you didn't know her well, but Tony had been around her for years. A more grown up single ponytail had replaced the pigtails, and her make up was toned down. The studded dog collar had been replaced by an antique choker, and while still goth, her clothes would no longer send the HR department running in terror. Instead of staring him down, she was watching his tie tack instead.

"Abby, why?"

She didn't even pretend to not understand the question. "I never dreamed Roger would hurt Sarah, he knew how I felt about Tim and that she was his sister. I never thought something like this would happen."

"What did you think would happen?"

"Honestly, I thought he would be charming and sweep her off her feet. He came and found me, told me that they had really hit it off and that he was taking her to a nice club for a midnight supper."

Tony shook his head. "And you believed him?"

Her voice dropped to a whisper as she shrugged, now staring at the desk top. "He was my friend, Tony."

He was tempted to ask what her definition of friend was, but Tony didn't want to interrupt the flow of answers now that Abby was apparently, finally, seeing what was wrong with her actions. "And what about Sarah? Didn't she get any say in your little fantasy? Even if he was the sweet guy you thought he was, the days of arranged marriages are long gone, Abby. You were her ride home, didn't you have a responsibility to make sure being left in a bar with some guy fifteen years older than her is what she really wanted?

"I know that."

"Now you know that, but why weren't you thinking about it that night?" If he were honest with himself, Tony wasn't expecting an answer, but to his surprise, Abby started stumbling through an explanation.

"Because... I think... when I..." Abby stalled out for moment before taking a deep breath and looking Tony straight in the eye. "I was so focused on my own needs and desires that I was unable to look past them to acknowledge anyone else's needs."

"Wow," Tony stared at her. "That sounds suspiciously like what a therapist would teach you to say."

"Yeah, and she's right."

The words were so rushed Tony had trouble understanding them. "You're in therapy?"

Staring at the desk surface again, Abby nodded.

"Because of this?"

Another nod.

Watching the top of her head, Tony made a guess. "The Director ordered you to go?"

A third nod, but this time there were words along with it. "I was mad at first, but then she tricked me into seeing some of the stuff I've done from someone else's perspective."

"You've been kinda hard on McGee a few times that maybe..."

Abby didn't let him finish. "It's not just McGee. Did you know that I even got mad at Gibbs for searching for that kidnapped woman instead of taking me out to dinner for my birthday? God, Tony, I was so bitchy to him. I even said that what he did was unforgivable."

"I'm proud of you, Abs."

She looked up, startled. "What?"

"Even if Vance forced you to go, seeing a therapist, admitting there's a problem in your behavior, it's a hard thing to do. Keep it up, okay?" Tony bent down and kissed her cheek before he left. Abby was still sitting there, her hand on her cheek, when a shadow crossed the doorway. She looked up into the familiar bright blue eyes of her silver haired fox.

"If you're serious about this, and not just going through the motions because your job's on the line, then nothing in the past is unforgivable, Abby."

"Even to McGee?"

Gibbs leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. "How many men have you dated that had his level of compassion?"

She smiled at the memory. No man had ever crossed her path that was as gentle, loving and forgiving as her Timmy, but Gibbs didn't let her speak.

"Don't push him until he's ready, Abby, but for the record," Gibbs waited until she was looking at him again. "I'm proud of you, too."


	15. Chapter 15

**a/n - Like real life, there is no black and white, no total right or wrong. I hope you all are still enjoying this and thank you for all the wonderful comments. Only a few more chapters to go.**

Gibbs was spending a rare afternoon alone in the bullpen. The drug manufacturing ring had been broken up and the paperwork done. They were on cold cases at the moment and after a morning of paper wads he'd sent Tony and Ziva out to re-interview witnesses. Even Vance and McGee were away from Headquarters, as McGee was at the Pentagon presenting an independent evaluation of the recent upgrade to their firewall. Gibbs would have loved to tagged along with them, but as Vance reminded him, he wasn't Tim's boss at the moment. If nothing else, McGee's self imposed banishment to the sub-basement had reminded the rest of his team how much they depended on him.

The object of his musing might not be there, but his phone was ringing so Gibbs stepped over to the empty desk and answered. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs?" The voice was young, female and frightened.

"Sarah? Sarah, what's wrong?"

"Tim's not answering his cell phone and, I'm sorry, I called his old extension, didn't I?"

Gibbs tried to sound as reassuring as possible. "Tim's at the Pentagon, so I'm glad you called this number. Now, tell me what's wrong."

Once they started, the words just tumbled out. "I wanted to drive myself to my appointment, so Tim left me his car and now the tire's flat and the auto club said it's going to take over two hours and there's all these construction workers and they're just standing there watching me and I know it's silly, in my head I know they're not going to hurt me..."

"It's not silly at all, where are you?" He listened as she gave the street name and the nearest cross street. "Just keep your doors locked, I'll be there in about fifteen minutes, all right?" She was just a little younger than Kelly would have been and he found himself responding instinctively. "I have to hang up this phone, Sarah, but I'm going to call you right back from my cell and I'll stay on the line with you until I get there." He quickly wrote down the number from the display before returning to his desk. By the time he had Sarah on his phone, Gibbs had his weapon and extra clip and was half way to the parking garage, taking the stairs two at a time.

Nine and a half minutes later, his agency sedan was pulling in behind the Porsche. Instead of going straight to Sarah, Gibbs rounded the car and headed for the cluster of workmen whistling at her. He went straight for the ringleader and shoved his badge in the man's face. "You've had your fun, now back to work, all of you."

The greasy haired Casanova wasn't ready to back down. "Come on, Pops, we're just having a little fun with your little girl." It was the wrong thing to say.

"I told you to back off."

Before any of his friends could blink, the aggressive man was in an armlock and pressed against the building. "Whoa, Pops, chill. I was just offering to show her a good time."

"If you're smart you'll shut your trap. If not, you're gonna have my foot so far up your ass that you'll be using the tongue of my shoe to talk with. Do we understand each other now, hotshot?" After the nod, Gibbs released him but didn't relax until the group had scurried back inside.

Sarah unlocked the door as Gibbs reached for the handle. She was trembling as he helped her out of the car, so Gibbs slipped his coat off and wrapped it around her before leading her to the passenger side of his car. "I'm sorry, I hate acting like such a baby."

"No, it's okay, they scared you. Under the circumstances, you're doing fine, Sarah." Once he had her sitting in the car, Gibbs squatted down next to the open door. To his surprise, she giggled.

"They thought you were my dad."

"Yep, that they did."

Sarah stared at his wide smile. "You don't mind?"

"Why would I mind?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow as if to challenge her to object before he stood. "Keep the door locked and I'll get that tire changed for you. While you're waiting, call your brother back and leave him a message that you're all right and you're with me."

She nodded and pulled her phone out of her backpack. "I should probably call the auto club back, too."

Gibbs thought about what kind of service provider would leave a young woman stranded for hours on the side of the road. "I'll call them when I'm done." As he circled around to start working on the Porsche, Gibbs made sure his sidearm was visible to the men watching from the lobby of the half constructed office complex.

---NCIS---

Tony and Ziva arrived back to find a nearly deserted squadroom. Ziva sat at her computer to start inputting the few new scraps of information they had gathered, as Agent Balboa passed them on his way to the break room. "Hey, if you're looking for Gibbs, he got a call from McGee's sister and took off like a bat out of hell."

"Sarah? What happened?" Tony already had his phone out. After the second ring Gibbs picked up.

_Yeah, DiNozzo, what's up?_

"Is Sarah all right? Balboa said she called and you left in a hurry."

_Little trouble with Tim's car, then some testosterone laden jerks got her pretty spooked while she waiting for the tow truck. _

"Pretty girl in a sports car... they probably thought she'd be an easy mark. You got there before they could scare her too much, right?"

_She's fine. Anything new on the case?_

"Nah, nothing we didn't already have in triplicate."

_Okay, why don't the two of you knock off early._

"I think I'll stay and work on that other project."

---NCIS---

"Thank you, Agent Gibbs. I really appreciate you coming to help me."

Gibbs was becoming quite fond of the young lady. "Not a problem. Now I'm going to follow you to the tire shop so we can get that tire fixed. I don't want you driving around without a spare." After giving her directions, he got into the sedan and followed her.

It was obvious that being surrounded by strange men in the repair shop made Sarah nervous so as soon as the keys were handed over he escorted her to the coffee shop across the street. Minutes later they were settled at a table with two coffees.

"I'm sorry to take you away from your work today, sir. I'm sure you had much more important things to do than babysit me." Sarah played with the lid of her coffee, not looking him in the eye.

"I work for a living, Sarah, so it's Gibbs, not sir. Took me forever to break your brother of that." He gave her a smile and was glad to see it returned. "Don't worry, the paperwork will be there tomorrow."

He could see that she was working up to something, so he waited. Just like her brother, eventually the words came. "What's going to happen to Tim? His three month assignment in cybercrimes is almost done and he hates it there."

"Tim tell you that?"

"Of course not." She gave him that half smile he often saw on her brother. "He'll put up with anything if he thinks it makes me feel safer, but he loves being an agent and he deserves to have that back."

Gibbs gave a slow nod, glad to see her awareness of her brother's sacrifices. "He'll always have a place on my team, Sarah, no matter how long it takes for him to realize it. There's more to family than sharing a last name." He watched carefully so see her reaction when he brought up family. "Have your parents tried to contact you again?"

"No." She shrugged, looking almost guilty at her confession. "Maybe it sounds really bad, but it's almost a relief. Perfection is exhausting, Agent Gibbs, I couldn't live up to my parents' expectations forever."

"You did nothing wrong, you're the victim."

Sarah tipped her coffee in his direction. "No, I'm a survivor."

Her sessions with Ziva were obviously paying off. Gibbs returned the coffee salute with a proud smile. "Good girl."

---NCIS---

"Hey, Boss, Sarah get taken care of?" Tony looked up over the edge of his monitor. Gibbs nodded and tossed his coat over his desk.

"Tire is fixed and the Director's driver dropped McGee off at the repair shop so he could take Sarah home." He pointed at the computer. "Did you find something?"

"Maybe," Tony waited until Gibbs came around to see what he'd found. Ziva was already behind the desk, perched on the edge of a file cabinet. "It's going to take a few days to confirm this is the right Rebecca McGee, but this is our strongest lead."

"Keep on it. I want us to be absolutely sure before we say anything to them. Especially about this."

"I do not understand." Both men turned to look at Ziva as she stared at the screen. "McGee has more computer knowledge than the rest of the team combined. Why didn't he find her?"

"He couldn't look." Gibbs had his own theory, but he let DiNozzo continue, suspecting they were on the same wavelength. "Dead or alive, if he'd found her, he would have said something. If he was still looking, we'd have seen some evidence of his searches."

"Agreed, but why has he not looked? Sarah told me about the stories he would tell her when she was little. He would teach Sarah about different countries by pretending Becky was living there Oh, of course."

Gibbs gave her a nod, encouraging her to continue.

"At first he was too young to search, and now he is afraid she is dead. He would rather never know than to tell Sarah that Rebecca is gone. What happens if we discover that Rebecca is dead? Do we tell them?"

"No, not unless they ask." Tony looked at Gibbs, who again nodded, this time in agreement. "We only give them news if it's good."

"Keep on it, DiNozzo, and while he's doing that, Ziva, I want you to look deeper into Sarah's adoption. My gut is telling me that's the clue we're missing."


	16. Chapter 16

Tim tossed another empty pen in the trash and stopped to rub the cramp out of his hand. For running a unit devoted to computer based crimes, he was spending an amazing amount of his time writing. As he sat he looked out and watched his temporary team in action. Alice apparently had a breakthrough of some sorts because she stood with a whoop, dropping her purple pen. Instead of teasing her or stealing it, Norm picked it up before it could roll under anything and quietly returned it with a smile. He'd watched them leave for lunch at the same time for the last several weeks, but he wasn't imposing rule #12 down here.

Next week he would have to give Director Vance a decision about his future. Jerry had opted for early retirement, and cybercrimes was his if he wanted it. On the other hand, Gibbs had made sure he'd known his place on the MCRT was secure. If he'd had a third hand it would hold the option Vance had tossed his way last night. The Pentagon team was being enlarged and he'd been offered that opening as well.

Laughing to himself, Tim gathered the files he'd completed that morning and moved around the corner to the wall of filing cabinets. For someone who usually struggled to fit in somewhere, he had more options than he knew what to do with. Cybercrimes was certainly a step up, career-wise, but he missed the challenges and variety of the field already. The Pentagon office focused more on terrorism than crimes. He would still spend about eighty percent of his time at the computer, but at least he'd be above ground and would occasionally be out in the field.

Sliding the last file into the appropriate drawer, Tim returned to his desk to find his afternoon coffee waiting for him. In three months he'd never caught the man as he'd made his delivery. Tim sat down and openly laughed as he picked up the fresh cup. The hot liquid inside the paper cup warmed more than his hands as he cradled it, lost in thought.

---NCIS---

From cybercrimes, Gibbs went next to the lab. McGee would be ready to start asking questions soon; it was time to make sure Abby was ready to give answers.

Abby took the offered Caf-Pow, realizing that they were preparing for a serious conversation as Gibbs ushered her into her office. Sipping on the straw gave her something to do while she waited for Gibbs to start.

For his part, Gibbs took a good look around the lab. The maturing of Abby's style seemed to have spread to the warren of rooms that made up the forensic lab. The music was still playing, but it was at a volume that allowed speaking and not shouting. Her lab assistant was obviously finishing something as she was hanging up her lab coat. She knocked on the frame of the open office door and looked apologetic for interrupting. Abby gave the woman a warm smile. "Hey, Emily."

"All the babies are full of evidence. While they're working, I thought I'd go pick up our lunches before they think we've forgotten about our order."

Abby glanced down at the clock on the corner of her monitor and groaned. "Wow, yeah, I didn't realize it was that late. Thanks." Emily smiled and closed the glass door behind her, leaving Abby and Gibbs to talk.

"You two seem to be getting along pretty well."

"Yeah, well, Vance gave me a list to choose from, instead of just assigning someone to the lab. It helped to have some say in who I had to work with. She lets the little things roll off her back, but she stands up to me when I go too far." Abby shrugged as she continued. "Her areas of expertise are in my weaker fields. We're a good match in the lab."

One phrase caught his attention. "You're admitting to having weaker areas?"

She picked up her drink, giving herself a minute before she had to answer. Some of the realizations she had made with her therapist were still difficult to admit, even after practicing. "Nobody can do everything. I can be appreciated for my strengths without feeling bad for what I don't do as easily." A second shrug and she sounded a little more like herself. "I'm ready to be a team, even in the lab, if it helps all of us to be a family again."

"I'm glad to hear that, Abby. How are your sessions going?"

"It's hard, Gibbs. I mean, when I look at some of the stuff I've done, it's kind of embarrassing, and the older I've gotten, the worse I've gotten about it."

"Nothing wrong with getting older, Abs. It happens to the best of us." Gibbs sat on the edge of her desk and watched as she struggled for the right words.

"Getting old scares me, Gibbs, but at the same time it shows me what I'm missing." She reached up and tapped the side of her head. "In here I know they're not mutually exclusive, but the rest of me hasn't caught up. Part of me wants one man to settle down with and have a couple of kids."

"And the rest of you?"

"Is scared to death that I'll lose my identity as an individual." She wiped her eyes. "That sounds really pathetic, doesn't it?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, just sad." He studied her as he thought about what she had said. "McGee's the one man that's made you think about settling down, and so he's gotten the brunt of it."

"Yeah." Abby leaned forward to rest her crossed arms on her desk. "It's like a pendulum and I just keep swinging back and forth every time there's a trigger."

"Like Roger?"

"Like Roger. I should have known, Gibbs. He showed up after ten years and wouldn't talk about what he'd been doing all that time and he had all these amateur tattoos."

"Prison tattoos."

"I didn't want to see it. I just wanted to see my old friend, the way he used to be. I know what it sounds like, but when I went back to my high school reunion, well, most of my old friends from school are married, have families. It was like Roger and I were the only ones left and Timmy was dating that blonde accountant and she seemed so perfect for him and all I could see was my last chance slipping away and then Roger said he wanted me to find him the perfect woman."

Gibbs remembered what she had said earlier. "That's when you decided that the four of you double dating was a way to get back together with McGee?"

"Yes, it was stupid, but I wanted him back and then I started feeling trapped because I didn't want to have to change who I am."

It always took a lot of effort to keep up with Abby, but even Gibbs was having trouble this time. "Why would you have to change? He fell in love with you the way you are."

"He was ashamed to take me to meet his parents. That's why I broke it off. He wanted to know where our relationship was going, but he wouldn't take me with him when his parents were in town."

"Did you ask him?"

"He didn't know that I knew they were here."

"Crap." Gibbs let his head drop until his chin was resting on his chest. Misunderstandings and misinterpretations had shattered his team, but this was the worst of all, the one pivotal moment that sent them all down this path. "Abby, you need to do something."

A quick phone call brought Vance's assistant down with a copy of the footage captured outside Sarah's hospital room. Once they were alone again, he handed the disc to Abby. "There's no audio, you'll need to use all your lipreading skills to put together a transcript of what was said."

"Umm, okay." Abby didn't look too convinced as she took the copy.

"It's not only for a possible case, it's something you need to see and understand before any of us can move past what has happened." He almost hated to do it, but he could only imagine what Phillip McGee's reaction would have been if Tim had introduced Abby as his girlfriend. Abby needed to see and understand for herself. "I need it done by the end of tomorrow, Abs."

---NCIS---

The delivered coffee was savored as Tim half-heartedly skimmed the next stack of files on his desk, his mind still on his upcoming choice. If he were honest with himself, he wanted back on Gibbs' team. The older man had become a rock for him and for Sarah over these last few months, while Tony and Ziva had each stepped up with their support and friendship. The wild card was Abby. Jeffries and Thompson had cleared her of any wrongdoing, the most she was guilty of was ignorance and a lack of judgment. Legal responsibility aside, her misjudgments had hurt his sister in a way he didn't know if he could forgive. Could he learn to trust her again, could he even work with her again? So many questions and he had no idea how to answer any of them. In the meantime, he had paperwork to finish and a cup of coffee to enjoy, so he set aside the questions for another day.

---NCIS---

"Boss, glad you're back. You need to see this." Without any other preamble, DiNozzo shoved a bulging file at Gibbs and waited while he flipped through the pages, some familiar, some new.

"Has Vance seen this?" Gibbs didn't wait for an answer before heading up the stairs, Tony and Ziva scrambling to catch up with him.

They were already in the Director's outer office by the time DiNozzo was able to answer Gibbs. "No, Boss, I haven't shown it to the Director yet."

The man in question looked up at the voices he heard through the open office door. "Shown me what, DiNozzo?"

"This." Gibbs walked through the door into the private office and handed Vance the file. "It's the current location of Rebecca McGee Harper."

"You found her? She's alive?" Vance was skimming through the papers and came to a stop at the most recent addition to the file. "My God, you're sure about this?"

"Yes, Sir." Ziva glanced over at Tony and Gibbs, but her part of the search was what had caught Vance's attention. "I spent most of the day on the phone with the authorities in Illinois. They are faxing the unaltered documents before the end of the day."

"Have you spoken to Rebecca?"

"No, Sir." This time it was Tony filling in the gaps. "Doctors Without Borders has confirmed that she is with their team in Haiti, but communications are pretty hit and miss down there right now. The best they can do is to try and get a message through to her."

"Let me see if I can do better than a message. We tell McGee and Sarah in the morning, not before. I want those documents in our possession and verified first." Vance was already going through his contacts list, looking for someone he could contact directly in the earthquake ravaged country.

Tony wasn't happy with the delay. "Why are we waiting?"

"We have no idea what she was told back then or what she knows now. The last thing Tim and Sarah need right now is to find out where Rebecca is, only to discover that she doesn't want anything to do with them." By the stunned expressions, Vance knew that they had never considered the possibility that Tim's older sister might not want to be found, might not want her baby brother back in her life. "I'll pull some strings with my contacts in the area. Let me talk to her first. McGee's waited over twenty years, one more night won't be so bad."

Gibbs had contacts of his own. "One more night, Leon. There's a supply plane leaving Norfolk for Haiti at 0500. If you haven't talked to her by then, I'm gonna be on it."

It took almost all of Vance's self-control to not roll his eyes. "Fine, if I haven't talked to her by then, I'll drive you to Norfolk myself. Satisfied?" He'd long since given up on intimidating Gibbs, but he managed to back DiNozzo and David a few steps with his glare. "Now get out of here and let me work."

It was 2330 before Vance left that night. He came down the stairs into the squad room rather than take the elevator directly to the ground level. As he suspected, Gibbs was at his desk, a rucksack at his feet. It was only a slight surprise to see DiNozzo and David each at their desks, equally packed and ready to go.

"All right, listen up you three. Nobody is flying south in the morning, and this is how it's going to play out..."


	17. Chapter 17

**a/n - You know, I didn't think the last chapter was that much of a cliffhanger. Certainly not as much as, well, let's just say that you'll be hating me in a few days. Enjoy today.**

"Abby, were you here all night?" Emily arrived early to find the lights still on and her boss slumped in front of the large plasma screen, still wearing the clothes from the day before. Abby sat up and wiped her face.

"Gibbs needs a transcript of what was said."

That wasn't the long, drawn out explanation Emily was used to, so she came around to see what had Abby so transfixed. She was running the same few seconds of footage over and over. You didn't need audio or the ability to lip read to tell that the older man was yelling as he struck the younger man across the face. Emily studied the two men closer, realizing that she had seen the younger one in the building a few times. "Isn't that McGee from cybercrimes?"

"Yes, it's Timmy."

"Timmy? So you know him?"

"I caused this."

Emily didn't know the details of what happened before she was hired, but she did know that part of her unofficial duties was to keep Abby on track. She looked at the report Abby was writing the transcript on, the page listing this clip was blank. "Have you determined what he is saying to Agent McGee?"

Abby nodded and rewound that clip. It was disconcerting to hear the words coming from Abby's mouth, matching perfectly to the lip movement of the older man on the screen, but it was even worse to think about their meaning.

_You little bastard, this is all your fault... Your sister was perfect until your friend came along... Now she's defending you... You've never done anything right..._

"My God..."

"Yeah." Abby wiped her eyes again. "The whole tape is like that. When we were dating, and he wouldn't introduce me to his family. I thought he was ashamed of me, but he was protecting me."

Emily shuddered, being in the lab usually meant that she didn't have to see the violence first hand, but this recording was somehow worse than first hand. She took a deep breath and picked up the papers. "Okay, you translate, I'll write. Let's get the rest of this done."

---NCIS---

"Director Vance, I was told that you wanted to see us?" Tim had been stunned by the summons that morning, even more so when it specifically included Sarah.

"Tim, Sarah, please come in." Smiling broadly, Vance ushered them into his office, silently amused by the touch of panic McGee couldn't quite hide. He knew his happiness was something that would unnerve any agent under his command. McGee tensed even more when he saw the members of his former team, all grinning at him, even Gibbs.

"Boss, guys, what's..."

"Where are my manners? Here, sit down. Would you like some coffee or maybe some tea?" Vance offered his arm to Sarah and escorted her to the sofa in his office as Tim trailed behind, staring at the back of the Director's head. Ziva perched on the arm of the small sofa and took Sarah's hand as she sat.

"I don't know about Tim, but I want to know why you're all grinning like loons."

"Sarah!"

"What? I'm not an agent, I'm the little sister, so I can get away with it." It was the first time he'd seen that saucy smile since the attack and Tim couldn't chastise her for it as he sat next to her.

Vance let him off the hook. "It's quite all right, Agent McGee." He leaned back against his desk, still smiling. "The worst part of my job is how often I am forced to break bad news, so when good news arrives, I tend to savor it."

"Good news, Sir?"

"That's right, Tim, good news." Gibbs sat, wedging McGee between himself and Sarah. Tony pulled a chair closer as Vance continued to explain.

"Agent DiNozzo did most of the leg work on this, so I'll let him bring you up to speed before I let you know what happened last night."

Tony finished adjusting his chair so he was sitting directly in front of Tim and tapped his friend's knees with a file folder before dropping it on the side table. "One of the things I regret the most," he glanced over at Sarah before continuing, "is that I never really looked past the surface when you joined the team. Over these last three months, I think I've finally gotten to know the real you. So, tell me if I'm right."

"Umm, okay..." Thoroughly baffled, Tim sat back to listen.

"You were really young when your parents sent Becky away. It must have been really scary, afraid that you'd somehow make a mistake and get thrown away too. Always having to be perfect..."

"Covering for me whenever I screwed up." It wasn't until that day in the hospital that Sarah had understood just how much her big brother had taken on. He shrugged and squeezed her hand.

"Couldn't lose you too."

"And you couldn't look for Becky because as long as you didn't know, you could convince yourself and Sarah that she was still alive someplace where your parents couldn't reach her."

"Yeah." Tim let his head drop as he heard Tony verbalize the fear he'd carried for years.

"And you were right."

Tim's head jerked up as soon as Tony's words penetrated. "She's alive? You found her?"

"Yeah, buddy, we found her." Tony leaned even closer and rested his hand on Tim's leg. "There's more, though, that you both need to know. Your parents lied to you about what happened, and they lied to her."

"I don't understand."

"Becky didn't go through with the abortion. When your parents found her, she was sitting on the curb outside the clinic." Tony paused, letting his friend absorb what he was being told.

"She didn't have it... but... are you saying that they threw her out knowing that she was pregnant?"

Gibbs rubbed Tim's back as Tony continued. "No, they took her to Rosedale Family Services, a home for unwed mothers. She was a virtual prisoner there until she went into premature labor."

Sarah had a death grip on Ziva with one hand and on her brother with the other. "What happened?"

"There were complications and she almost bled to death during an emergency cesarean section. When she regained consciousness she was told that the baby was stillborn."

"Oh, God." One look at Tim's face and Tony knew he had made the connection. He gave Tim an encouraging nod as Tim turned to Sarah. "Rosedale Family Services is the agency that handled your adoption, Sarah. I saw the paperwork once."

"I don't understand, what are you saying?"

Ziva picked up the file that Tony had set on the table and pulled out a birth certificate. "If I remember correctly, when you turned twenty one, you started looking for your birth mother."

"Yes, I mentioned it in group a few weeks ago. Her name is Nancy Kittaman, but I haven't been able to locate her. I was going to ask Tim to help me, but then everything happened." Sarah shrugged, she had been planning on talking to her brother after she went to the club with Abby.

"I know." Ziva handed Sarah a copy of her birth certificate with the name Nancy Kittaman on it. "It is a forgery, Sarah. A very good one, but it is a forgery."

"A forgery, but why?" They watched as the emotions and realizations flashed across her face. "Becky is my real mom, isn't she? Are you sure?"

"We're sure." Now it was Vance's turn. "Metro had your DNA from the evidence collected after your assault. We had them help us get a DNA comparison done. There's an eighty-seven percent chance that Tim is biologically related to you."

"My uncle?"

Vance smiled at the joy on her face. "Besides, you look so much like your mother. Anyone who would see the two of you would know you were mother and daughter."

Gibbs still had his hand on Tim's back, so he slid it up to gently squeeze the back of his neck. "That's probably why your parents got rid of every picture with Rebecca in it. Somebody would have noticed."

"I should have."

"No, McGee." Ziva leaned across Sarah to share the hand Sarah was still holding. "You were less than eight years old when she was sent away. No one could remember under those circumstances."

"It's probably a good thing you didn't, Probie. I'd hate to think what your old man would have done to you if you had figured it out before now."

Vance's words caught up with Sarah. "Wait, you've seen her?"

"Yes, I have." Vance moved off his desk and joined the small circle, pulling in the remaining chair. "I used some satellite time and was able to speak to her last night. I wanted to make sure there were no surprises that could hurt either of you."

Sarah was staring at Vance and didn't see the silently mouthed 'thank you' her uncle gave the Director. "She wants me? My real mom wants me?"

Vance nodded with a smile. "Oh, yes, very much so."

Tim was still trying to wrap his mind around the turn of events. "Where is she? Where has she been all these years?"

"Right now she's in Haiti. Rebecca is a nurse with the relief efforts down there." Vance turned his attention to Sarah as he continued. "Both she and your father are down there."

"My father?" Vance had to strain to hear the whispered question, but it didn't surprise him. He knew it would take years for this broken family to full catch up, but he gave Sarah the basics for now.

"After you were born, your grandparents would have nothing to do with your mother. They couldn't and still keep you a secret from her. They gave her some money and left her there, hundreds of miles from home. She and your father had been high school sweethearts, and your mother called his family for help. They took her in, helped her finish high school and get into college. Your parents got married the day after your mother turned eighteen, so all of her adult records are with her married name."

"Which is?"

"Harper." They all watched as Tim processed the name Vance had given him.

He may have been young, but some memories never faded completely. "Richard Harper, he saved me from some bullies when I was little. He bought me a new shirt so Dad wouldn't find out I got beat up."

"Sounds like he was a good kid." Gibbs kept his voice even, refusing to let himself dwell on the tidbit Tim had let slip. As a child, he was more afraid of his father than a group of bullies.

He smiled, lost in the memories for a second. He hadn't thought of Rebecca's boyfriend for years. "Yeah, he was. They took me to the movies with them and then out for ice cream afterward. He... he wanted to be a doctor and travel all over the world helping people." Tim sat up straight as he remembered the rest. "Becky wanted to be a nurse and go with him."

"And that is exactly what they've done. Your mother was never able to have more children, so they've been taking care of the children of the world. They were part of the first medical teams to arrive." Vance returned his attention to Sarah. "Your mother and father would very much like to talk to you. Would you like me to set it up? I can get you a few minutes of satellite time later tonight."

"Yes, oh, yes."

---NCIS---

"This is the last scene." Abby gave a sad smile at the image paused on the screen. Tim was in profile to the camera. Zooming in hadn't helped with that, of course, but it did show the rapidly darkening marks on his face and the intense look in his eyes as he held his father's fist only inches away from Sarah's own battered face.

When Emily nodded her readiness, pen in hand, Abby started the recording again. Normally it would be difficult to read lips at this angle, but she knew that mouth better than she knew her own.

_Nobody else is going to hurt my baby sister... Not even you, old man... Do what you want to me... I deserve it... Sarah is innocent..._

---NCIS---

It was an emotional group that left Vance's office. Tim and Sarah were almost to the elevator when Hurricane Abby came up the stairs, not noticing them as she rushed straight to Gibbs who was still in the doorway to Vance's office. "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, I screwed up and I have to make it right. I'm going to go to the jail and make Roger confess so Sarah won't have to face him again. I know Timmy can never forgive me, but I still have to make it right for him. Nobody protected him, Gibbs. That awful man and nobody protected Timmy from him and I'm not going to let anybody else hurt him, even me." Not waiting for an answer and still not seeing the object of her concern standing at the elevator, Abby rushed back down the stairs on her mission.

Gibbs watched her go. The rant was classic Abby, but this time the emotions behind it were different. For the first time his gut told him she had really turned a corner in her attitude, not just reciting the perfectly practiced phrases she'd learned from the therapy sessions she'd been ordered to attend. He turned to see a strange look on McGee's face as he watched his former best friend charge down the stairs and out of sight.

Anything Gibbs may have wanted to say to the younger man was stopped by the ringing of McGee's phone. Listening to his end of the conversation it was apparent that the geeks in cybercrimes needed their boss in a hurry. Sarah heard it too.

"Go on, I'm fine. Agent Gibbs will walk me out."

They were almost to the parking lot before it was just the two of them and Sarah turned to him. "I need a favor, Agent Gibbs." She didn't give him a chance to agree or disagree. "No matter what happens with the trial and the man that hurt me, no matter what happens with our family, Tim can't move on until he and Abby settle things between them. Tim won't do that unless I can find a way to forgive Abby. After I talk to my... my parents this afternoon, I want you to help me set it up. I need to talk to Abby."

Gibbs watched her stumble over the word parents before he reached out and tilted her face up towards him, tapping her chin with his thumb. "On one condition," like Sarah did for him, he didn't give her a chance to agree or disagree. "I get to make sure your real parents know just how lucky they are to have you as their daughter." He kissed her forehead before opening the car door. "Now go to your doctor's appointment and we'll see you back here this afternoon."


	18. Chapter 18

**a/n - A short chapter, but it needed to stand alone, as you'll see. Thank you for all the wonderful comments. There's lots more to come, so all of your questions will be answered.**

"I'm having the satellite link directly fed into here." Vance welcomed Tim and Sarah once again into his office. "I thought this would be a little more private that in MTAC."

"Thank you, Sir, for everything." Tim still looked a little shell-shocked as he and his sister were ushered in by Vance's frazzled looking assistant. One of the techs from MTAC was working on the computer they'd hooked up to the plasma on the wall and looked up as they came in.

"Director Vance, I can't get the two systems to interface properly."

As soon as he heard the problem, McGee was back on his feet and leaning over the technician's shoulder, retracing each set of wires. As Vance continued to check his watch, Tim worked faster, afraid they'd miss the link with his sister. Sarah had also abandoned her chair and was pacing behind him.

"Did you try wiggling the wires?"

"Sarah..."

"Or hitting it, sometimes that takes care of... oops." Sarah caught herself but not quite quick enough.

He may now be her uncle instead of her brother, but the brotherly evil eye still worked as he turned and glared at her. "Is that why I had to replace the heat sink on your computer twice in the last year?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't." His glare shifted to the technician who was chuckling next to him. "Let's run a test signal."

Vance listened to the banter, but his attention was on the couple Gibbs' team was escorting toward his office, right on time. The man was tall and lanky, his still youthful face framed by salt and pepper hair. The woman was walking proof that Sarah would mature into a beautiful woman. It also appeared that she was the source of her daughter's quirky humor as she held her finger to her lips to quiet Vance. Enthralled, she stood in the doorway and watched her brother and her daughter quibble, her husband at her side.

"The test signal didn't come through. What port are you using on the main relay?" Next to Tim, the technician kept himself between McGee and the wires that went nowhere, delaying discovery until he was given the signal. Sarah was bouncing up onto her toes, trying to see over them.

"You still haven't wiggled all the wires, maybe one of them is loose."

"Sarah..."

"Maybe you should try the two cans with a string. It worked for us as kids."

Tim froze at the voice he hadn't heard for over twenty years, before slowly turning around. "Becky?" He would never remember the three steps it took to stand in front of her.

Rebecca reached up and touched his face. The familiar green eyes were wide as she brushed her thumb across his cheek. "How did my baby brother get to be so tall?"

"Becky." This time his voice broke as he pulled her into a hug. "You're here, you're really here."

After a moment, he straightened and reached out for Sarah, who was still staring in amazement at Rebecca. He pulled her close, giving her a reassuring smile. "Becky, it's time you met Sarah, your daughter. Sarah, this is... this is your real mom."

"My baby, my beautiful baby girl." Becky was crying as she reached out and touched Sarah's hair, believing for the first time that all of this was real.

Sarah looked into eyes so similar to her own and saw only love, no disappointment or regret, and threw herself into her mother's arms. "Mama, oh, Mama."

Richard could wait no longer and wrapped his arms around both of the women. "Our little girl, we have our little girl, Sweetheart, we have our family."

Tim stepped back from the newly united family, but Becky would have none of it. She grabbed his hand and pulled him in with them as Richard's hand came around to rest on the back of his neck, completing the circle. "Our family." The repeated words were just a whisper to the air, but a shout to his heart as he repeated them back.

"Our family."

The technician had left right away, but it was difficult to Vance and the team to move from the doorway. Eventually, Vance took a deep breath and closed the door before turning to the team. Ziva was openly crying for her friends, and DiNozzo was trying to subtly wipe his eyes. Vance decided to give them an out. "Why don't the two of you go get our new family some dinner?"

Tony nodded and tugged on Ziva to get her attention as he grinned at Vance. "We did good, didn't we?"

"We did good, DiNozzo, real good." Vance smiled once again and jerked his thumb in the direction of the main stairs. "Now, let's get them fed."

Once they were down the stairs, Vance next turned his attention to Gibbs. The man was still staring at the closed door, his eyes bright. Vance knew, of course, knew about Shannon and Kelly, about the family Gibbs would never get back. "Are you all right?"

Gibbs couldn't speak, couldn't even shake his head no, because it would have been a lie. All he could do was shrug with a tilt of his head before turning toward the back stairs.


	19. Chapter 19

**a/n - Thank you. Wow, you guys really liked the last chapter. Lots more to come, but I can see the end from where I'm sitting.**

"What do you mean, I can't see him? I've been waiting all day, Detective Jeffries." Abby was determined to see Roger before she lost her nerve.

Jeffries didn't know what to make of the woman seated across from him. When they first interviewed her, she was so determined to prove Roger Harris innocent, and now she wanted him to plead guilty to all counts. "I'm sorry, Miss Sciuto, his lawyer is still with him and in about an hour the evening lock down will start. He's being moved to the Central Detention Facility tomorrow. You can try to see him after he's processed."

"I want to convince him to plead guilty, that shouldn't have to wait until tomorrow." Abby crossed her arms over her chest and tried to glare at him.

"Tell me why."

"He used me to hurt those women, to hurt Sarah. How can I earn Timmy's forgiveness if she's still suffering?"

Jeffries sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Do you really think that getting a guilty plea out of Harris is going to earn you his forgiveness?"

Abby sagged as the fight left her. "It can't hurt, right? You were there at the hospital, you saw what his dad did to him. How can I make him feel better if he won't even talk to me? That's why I need to do it now, so Sarah won't have to face him in court, before his attorney makes me look even worse. I know I screwed up, but I didn't mean to, and now I want to make it right."

"You know that his lawyer isn't going to appreciate you trying to do this." Jeffries checked his watch, the meeting between accused and attorney had been going on for several hours already.

"So, we don't tell the lawyer." Abby gave him her best smile, hoping to convince him.

---NCIS---

"Hey, Boss."

"McGee, what are you doing down here?" Gibbs looked up from the file he was staring at. His attempt at looking busy might have been more convincing if the papers had been right side up. "I thought you were having dinner upstairs with your family."

He shrugged. "Not really hungry, besides, Sarah needs this time to get to know her real parents. I mean, how cool is that? She has parents now that really love her. Richard is so excited about being a father, and Becky can't let go of her. They don't need me underfoot right now."

"They're your family, too." As soon as he said it, Gibbs knew what the trouble was. "Family, but not parents. Tim..."

"No, it's okay." He gave a nervous laugh that indicated anything but humor. "I mean, it's not like I'm some kid that needs his dad's approval. I guess it's just that after seeing you get a second chance with your dad, and then Tony coming to term with his father, I thought that maybe, eventually..."

"He'd be proud of you." Gibbs saw the momentary trembling of Tim's hands before he tightened them into fists at his side.

"It was stupid, I know." Before Gibbs could tell him differently, McGee changed the subject. "Besides, that's not why I came down here. I came down to thank you again, and to make sure you were all right."

"All right? Why wouldn't I be?"

Tim hitched his hip up on the corner of Gibbs' desk. "Because you got to see a man get his dead daughter back, alive and well, after twenty years of mourning her death."

Gibbs let his eyes return to the file on his desk as he forced his voice to remain steady. "Hadn't really thought about it, McGee."

"Course not." Tim reached out and squeezed Gibbs' shoulder before he picked up the file and turned it right side up.

"There you are." Both men looked up at the sound of the feminine voice. Rebecca leaned over the railing to better see her brother. "If you don't want us to only hear Sarah's version of your dating history, you'd better get back up here."

"Go on." Gibbs laughed and slapped Tim's leg. "You better go defend yourself, and Tim..."

"Yeah, Boss?"

"You're welcome, and... thank you."

---NCIS---

"I do not understand why we did not get food when we picked up the Chinese food for McGee's family." Ziva trailed in behind Tony as he walked into the squad room with a stack of pizza boxes.

"Because, Ziva, Wednesday is the day you can get all the toppings you want for ten bucks. It's the best day for... whoa, Boss, what's up?" They watched as Gibbs slammed his phone down and pulled his service weapon out of the drawer.

"Do we have a case, Gibbs?"

"You two stay here, eat your pizza."

"Boss, where are you going?" There was no answer, Tony waited until Gibbs was almost to the elevator before he tried again. "After we screwed things up with McGee, I thought we were going to be up front with each other from now on."

Gibbs stopped, letting his head drop. "McGee's father is on his way to DC. His flight arrives in less than an hour."

"Then you need back-up, Gibbs."

"No, Ziva, what I need are no witnesses. Keep an eye on things here."

---NCIS---

"I'm sorry, the visit from the lawyer took too long. I'll make sure you can see him tomorrow after he's processed. It'll probably be in the afternoon, though."

Abby wasn't happy, but she reminded herself that it wasn't about her, it was about helping Sarah and the other women Roger hurt. "What are the rules, can I wear a wire?"

"A wire?"

"He's not cooperating, right? If I wear a wire, you could get more details about everything he's done. I mean, I'm sure I can convince him to do the right thing and plead guilty, but some more evidence will help, right?"

Jeffries sighed. He was beginning to understand the references to Hurricane Abby. "I can't promise anything, but I'll talk to the DA."

---NCIS---

Traffic was heavy as Gibbs threaded the sedan through the lanes on his way to Dulles International Airport. It had been only a few hours ago that he'd made a similar trip to pick up Rebecca and Richard from the airfield at Norfolk He'd taken the long way back to the Yard as the three of them discussed the situation.

Earlier that day:

_"Agent Gibbs, are you sure that Sarah is recovering all right? When Director Vance told us what has been happening..."_

_"Sarah's a tough little lady, Dr. Harper. It's been rough, but Tim has been her rock ever since she was attacked. Hell, he's been her rock since the day your parents brought her into the house. " Gibbs thought for a moment before turning into a coffee shop. Bourbon would have been preferable for this conversation, but coffee would have to do. Once they were parked, he turned to look his passengers straight on. "The Director told you about what happened to Sarah to protect both her and Tim." Richard looked surprised, Rebecca didn't._

_"Let me guess, my father blamed her, claimed she did something to lead that animal on."_

_"I'm not sure of the details, neither of them will talk about it, but he beat the hell out of Tim. The kid wouldn't lift a hand to defend himself, he only defended Sarah."_

_"Are you saying that bastard tried to hit my daughter?" The cold fury in Richard Harper's voice brought the man up in Gibbs estimation._

_"Leave him to me. Just remember that deep down, she's expecting to be let down again. If you can't handle it, if you can't be one hundred percent supportive, then go back to Haiti right now. Nobody is hurting those kids again, not even the two of you." He held his hand up as they both started to talk. "Don't answer. Think about it while I get us coffee." Gibbs didn't give them a second look as he headed inside the store._

_By the time he returned, the same stubborn look he'd seen for years on his agent's face was on his older sister's. "You do whatever you want to my father, Agent Gibbs, I don't care what happens to him. I just want to see my baby and my brother. Either you drive us to them, or I'll walk there on my own." _

_Gibbs bit back a smile at the ferocious mother bear he'd unleashed in his car as he turned to her husband. Richard was even less able to hide his anger. "Over twenty years of my daughter's life has been stolen from me, nobody is taking a moment more, Agent Gibbs. I'm counting on you to make sure the people who hurt my family are punished." He held his hand up to stop anything Gibbs might want to say. "And before you ask, I consider Tim as part of my family. I just wish we could have protected him from their dad, like we did Becky."_

_"So why didn't you? Why was it that no one stepped in and protected that boy?" Gibbs had to forcibly reign in his anger. The expression of resignation he'd seen on Tim's face in the security tape haunted his dreams._

_"Have you ever lived as a civilian in a small town this is totally dependent on a military base for its survival?" Richard's eyes met Gibbs' in the rear view mirror. "It may look easy from here, but his position with the Navy gave Philip McGee a lot of power, and he used it. Even after he transferred, he had enough friends left at the base to keep tabs on Rebecca and on my family. By the time my father retired and the old man couldn't hurt us any more, Tim was already in college. We thought it would be less disruptive to stay away by then. We never had a clue about Sarah."_

_There was little he could say to that, it was too late to change what had happened, but Gibbs silently vowed to show Philip McGee was real power was all about._

As he pulled into Dulles, Gibbs smiled grimly. It was time.


	20. Chapter 20

**a/n - The chapter you've been waiting for: Gibbs VS McGee, Sr. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.**

As head of airport security, Michael Decker had worked with NCIS before, so it wasn't a total surprise when he received a call from Gibbs asking him to detain a passenger. However, he had never heard that level of anger in the senior agent's voice before. Whatever this Phillip McGee had done, it had certainly pissed off the other man. Now he was watching Gibbs as he prepared to question the suspect.

Gibbs handed his SIG Sauer over to Decker's assistant before unbuckling the ankle holster hidden under his pant leg. Decker exchanged worried looks with his assistant and the guard at the door. "Are you expecting him to jump you? Do you need me to get more security in here?"

"If he takes a swing at me, he's all mine. I just don't want the temptation." Gibbs gave Decker a feral grin as he handed over his knife before walking through the door. Decker and the others watched through the two-way mirror as Gibbs stalked over to stand in front of the pacing elder McGee.

"Who the hell are you? I demand to know why I'm being held here. Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" Phillip was noticeably taller than Gibbs and probably at least fifty pounds heavier. Gibbs recognized his type, someone who was used to using his size to intimidate.

"Oh, yeah, I know exactly who I'm dealing with. You're the scumbag that I'm going to enjoy taking apart piece by piece."

The green eyes narrowed. "You're Gibbs."

"That's right, I'm Gibbs. I'm the man who's gets a front row seat to watch the mighty Phillip McGee fall." Gibbs addressed the men behind the mirror without turning completely away from him. "I want the observation room empty and the recording equipment turned off."

"It's a free country, I didn't break any laws by coming here to see my kids." Phillip took a step back, looking at the mirrored wall. Decker turned the lights on as he left to show that the room was now empty

"You're half right, old man. You didn't break any laws by coming to DC this time. You're just forgetting that you don't have any kids. Not anymore."

"Did Timmy put you up to this? What kind of federal agent has to hide behind his boss?"

"Hide behind me? He helped rescue a teammate from a terrorist camp in Somalia and you think he needs to hide from the likes of you?" Gibbs was poking at the man's chest, hoping he'd take a swing. Like most bullies, Phillip McGee never entered into a fair fight.

"What do you want?"

"We're going to have a little talk, so sit down." There was no movement, and Gibbs slapped his hand down on the table as he roared. "I said sit down. If I have to put you in that chair, you won't be getting back up on your own."

Phillip sat down, but he was tight with anger. Gibbs stood at the other side of the table, leaning over, supporting himself on his fists, as he stared at him. "Just tell me why."

"Why what? I don't understand."

"Looking at you makes me wonder if there is a God. There was nothing more important to me than my family. My little girl and my wife were my life, and they were murdered. Murdered, while I was a half a world away, defending my country. I never got to see my little girl grow up, I never got to be a grandfather. I never had the chance to have a son." Gibbs started to pace, running his hands over his head in frustration.

"Then there's you. Some damn Navy bureaucrat that threw your children away like they were nothing. Nothing. You don't deserve them, and it's killing me that they're stuck with the likes of you."

"You know nothing. What kind of tramp gets herself pregnant at..."

Gibbs lunged forward, slamming his palms down on the table. "Don't you dare. She was a child that made a mistake. She deserved your compassion and love, not to be locked away like some embarrassment. She would have made a fine mother to Sarah, but you took the choice away from her. But then , you knew that, didn't you? You've been keeping track of her all these years, that's how you knew she was coming to DC." He started pacing again. "You tossed Sarah away because she was a victim, because she wouldn't turn away from Tim, who was willing to sacrifice everything to help her? How dare you call yourself a father."

"Timothy..." Phillip shook his head with disgust.

Tensing, Gibbs didn't want to hear this man's vile opinion about his own son. "I suggest you be very careful what you say about Tim."

"He threw away a Navy career, you think I should be proud of that?" Phillip sneered as he leaned back in his chair, not catching the cold fury in Gibbs' eyes.

"What he threw away was the chance to be like you. What he grabbed was the chance to become his own man, and that's a journey I've been proud to watch. He's grown from a green rookie to a fine agent." Gibbs stopped and leaned against the table again. "He earned his spot on the top team in the country, my team, and there's not too many that can say that."

"You want him, you can have him."

"It will be my pleasure. Don't worry. Rebecca, Richard, Sarah, my team, we'll all make sure Tim has all the family he needs without the likes of you. Besides, you're going to be too busy, settling into your new accommodations." Gibbs was grinning now.

"New accommodations? What the hell does that mean?" For the first time, Phillip McGee looked nervous as Gibbs continued to smile.

"I'm sure it will be... awkward... to be dragged back to the stockade in leg irons." Gibbs settled into the chair, enjoying the show.

"I'm a civilian now, you have no right..."

"You weren't a civilian when you forged a birth certificate to hide Sarah's true parentage, when you kidnapped her from her biological mother, when you crossed state lines with a stolen infant. How about when you used your position on the base to intimidate local businesses. Being labeled as an off-limit establishment by the Navy is pretty much a guaranteed closure in a town when all of your customers are Navy personnel. The Navy doesn't like it when you use that threat for your own gain. You know what that means?"

Phillip McGee knew exactly what that meant, even if he wouldn't say it. Gibbs could see it in his eyes. Since Phillip wouldn't say it, Gibbs did, enjoying the look on the other man's face as he did. "Navy Court Martial. The best you can do will be loss of pension, but really, you're looking at twenty five to life. The civilian courts will decide what to do with your wife."

Gibbs opened to door to admit the two MP's he'd summoned before he arrived. "He's all yours, boys."

"You can't do this to me!"

As they searched and cuffed Phillip McGee, Gibbs retrieved his weapons before heading out the door.

"Gibbs, you don't walk away from me!"

"Gibbs? GIBBS?"


	21. Chapter 21

**a/n - I'll finish writing this one over the weekend, so you should get a chapter a day until it's done, and then I'll get back on Buried in the Past. Enjoy, and thanks for all the wonderful reviews.**

It was just an hour past daybreak when Gibbs pulled into the parking lot at McGee's apartment. Abby was in the passenger seat, nervously picking at a thread on her skirt. "Are you ready for this?"

"I don't know. I just wish I could have talked to Roger first."

"Abs, having his confession as a peace offering really won't change anything for Tim and Sarah. They still need to come to terms with your part of what happened." When she didn't move, Gibbs reached up and grabbed a photo from on top his car's visor. It was several years old and dogeared, but it brought a smile to Gibbs' face as he stroked a finger across the familiar faces caught in a moment of levity after closing a case. "I want my family back together, Abby. Figure it out, make it right."

His tone gave her resolve and she nodded before climbing out of the car. Gibbs tucked the photo back in its spot before he joined her. At the door, he gave her an encouraging nod before knocking.

"Hey, Boss... Abby." Tim was dressed casually when he opened the door, Jethro bouncing around his feet. He let the canine respond to Abby for a minute before reigning him in. "Sarah, would you lock him in my bedroom, please?"

Tim and Abby stared at each other while Sarah was busy with Jethro. Rebecca was watching the interactions, so Gibbs was able to pull Richard to the side. "We need to talk about your father-in-law."

Richard took a deep breath, but managed to not show a reaction as he caught Becky's attention. "Honey, I'm going to go with Agent Gibbs. I think it will be easier for Abby and Sarah to talk with one less man here."

Her eyes narrowed as she studied her husband. Gibbs recognized the silent order to tell her later what was going on as she nodded her reluctant agreement.

Once the two men left, Rebecca pointed Abby to one of the chairs as mother and daughter sat on the sofa, holding hands. Tim stayed in the background. His plan was to sit at the dining room table and sort out his receipts so he could start his taxes, but he found himself too restless and was soon standing, leaning against the counter that separated the kitchen from the eating area.

Rebecca could feel Sarah's hand trembling in hers and decided to take the lead, getting answers out of the woman who seemed to have caused a great deal of pain to her family. "Abby, I have some questions I'd like to have answered, so why don't we start there?"

Abby shrugged, biting her lip as her practiced apology failed her.

"Whose idea was it to go to the club that night?" Rebecca watched Abby closely. "Did you know if Sarah had ever been there before?"

"It was my idea, ma'am, and I knew that Sarah had never been there before." Abby stared at her feet as she answered.

"The man that raped my daughter, did you know that he was going to be there?"

It sounded so much worse when broken down into the individual questions. "Yes, but I didn't know he was going to hurt her. Please, you have to believe me."

Rebecca pulled Sarah against her, tucking her daughter's head under her chin. "How did you know this man?"

"We were best friends in grade school. I though he was still a nice guy." Abby looked up before dropping her eyes back down. "I wanted to believe he was still a nice guy."

"Had you spent enough time with him recently to make that determination?"

"Obviously not. I'm so, so sorry." Abby started crying. "I never meant it to end up like this."

"How long did the three of you stay together after you introduced him to my daughter?"

"We didn't." Abby smeared her mascara as she wiped her eyes. "I introduced them and then I went to the restroom. Roger found me later and told me that he was taking Sarah out to a nicer place."

"And what did Sarah tell you?"

Black tinted teardrops fell on Abby's knee. "I never saw her. I'm sorry, I never, ever dreamed that he was going to take you out and hurt you instead." She started rocking back and forth. "I'm sorry."

"He'd already raped me by then." Sarah spoke for the first time, her words slightly muffled against her mom's shoulder. Rebecca started rocking her gently as she continued. "After you left he dragged me out to the dance floor. I wasn't comfortable with him, but I didn't want to cause a scene. I figured that dancing would be safe enough, though, but the music was so loud, and the strobe lights were almost blinding. I didn't even see the door until he pushed me through it... I screamed and screamed, but nobody out on the dance floor could hear us in there."

"Oh, God, I'm sorry." Abby listened, transfixed, as the details continued. The pain, the beating, the terror. His laughter as he tossed her cell phone out of her reach. Being unable to climb to her feet when he left, crawling to the door only to have him return before she could escape. The second assault, only to be dumped in the alley like garbage. Sarah's voice faded off as she clung to her mother, sobbing.

Rebecca kissed the top of her head as she soothed her. "It's over, baby. He's never going to hurt you again." She looked up at the woman sitting across from them. "Abby, how old are you?"

Rebecca's question startled Abby and she froze. Gibbs knew her age, but he'd kept her secret for years. One look at Sarah's mother and she knew this was one question she wasn't going to be able to avoid. "Thirty-seven, I'm thirty-seven." Behind her Tim straightened up in shock, but stayed silent.

"So Roger is the same age?"

"He's about year older, why?"

Abby's question was ignored. "You've heard the story surrounding Sarah's birth, I assume?"

"Yes..." Even if she wasn't currently part of the inner circle at NCIS, this was too big of a story to not be picked up and spread throughout the building.

"I was fifteen when Sarah was conceived. I'm sure you can do the math, Abby."

The math was easy even without knowing exact birth dates, and Abby stilled as she realized that Rebecca was close to her her own age. Her scientific mind was more specific, Sarah was young enough to be her daughter. Her hands over her mouth muffled her words, but didn't block them completely. "Oh, God."

"Tell me Abby, why exactly you thought this man, who was old enough to be her father, was someone you wanted her to be involved with?" Rebecca leaned forward and stared at Abby.

---NCIS---

Richard knew something big was up when Gibbs didn't say a word all the way back to the Yard, opting to use the drive through window at the coffee shop. They were in the elevator at NCIS before Richard demanded to know what was going on, in a conference room before Gibbs would tell him what was going on. "Phillip McGee is in Navy custody."

"What? How?" Richard sat heavily in the nearest chair at the large table. "He's a civilian now, why would the Navy arrest him? Is this because he hit Tim, and Tim is a federal agent?"

Gibbs joined him at the table. "As much as I would love to nail his ass for what he did to Tim, it would do more harm than good."

"Because it would force Tim to be the one to file charges." Richard thought about it for a moment. "The old man has Tim convinced that he deserves whatever he dishes out, doesn't he?"

"I'm afraid so. We're going to work on that, but in the meantime, we can nail him for kidnapping Sarah." Gibbs took a sip of his coffee as he watched for the reaction.

Richard seemed stunned. "Ever since your Director contacted us, all we've been thinking about was that fact that she was alive. I never stopped to consider how they faked her death or kept her from us."

"I understand." Gibbs gave a sad smile. "I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes. We're the investigators, let us worry about the legal end of things. He's in custody, the FBI is going after his wife, and your family will be safe, you just concentrate on the joy of having a daughter."

"She is a joy. Already, I can't imagine my life without her." Richard set his own coffee down on the table, turning serious. "Tim hasn't told us details, but I could tell he was worried about the effect this would have on you. I'm guessing you've lost a child."

"My own daughter..." Gibbs had to stop to clear his throat. "My daughter and her mother were killed when Kelly was only eight.

"My God, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, just... cherish every day you get with her."

---NCIS---

Roger Harris sat in the prison transfer van and smiled. His lawyer had answered all his questions, including the ones about the route the van would take. He had that effect on women when he wanted, of course it had taken several months of going through public defenders before he was assigned a female attorney. Two more turns and they would be on a stretch of road with no businesses, no cross-roads, and virtually no traffic. His hand made shank had been finished the week before and he knew which of the three guards had the keys to his handcuffs. He also knew which of the other inmates in the van would jump at a chance to help take out the guards and which ones would just run. Everything was ready, he smiled as the large van made the next turn.


	22. Chapter 22

**a/n - Thanks for all the wonderful comments. A couple of you have asked about Abby's age and how I determined it for this story. This is season seven, we know that at the beginning of season one, Tony was celebrating his second anniversary at NCIS. Abby was in charge of the lab already when he arrived, and it wasn't a new thing. Just from that, we know that she's been there at least ten years, probably closer to eleven or twelve. She has her Master's degree and there's been no mention of her finishing high school early, so that's a minimum of six years, starting at the age of eighteen or nineteen. It doesn't matter how brilliant she is, NCIS would not have hired her to run the lab at their headquarters without some job experience after college, so there's another year, minimum, but probably closer to two or three. **

**Also, remember the episode with the Marine that got eaten by a bear? Abby was all mad at Gibbs because he was out on a search party to find the Marine's missing girlfriend. When he came back, she 'forgave' him for forgetting her birthday. He told her that he didn't forget her birthday, and he remembered how old she was. That made her nervous and she told him he didn't have to remember that part. **

**Honestly, the actress is now 40, and it's a pet peeve of mine that Hollywood assumes that characters can't be beautiful and interesting after they hit 40. Don't get me started on how young they've made Ziva now. According to new-canon she was a college grad and a trained Mossad agent by the time she was 16 to be the age she is now.**

**Rant over :) Enjoy the chapter.**

Abby straightened her shoulders as she looked directly at Tim's sister. "I've done a lot of stupid things, but the dumbest thing I ever did was to let Tim walk out of my life."

"I thought you were friends until this happened." Rebecca looked past Abby to see an almost unreadable expression on Tim's face. Luckily the years had not dampened her ability to read her little brother. "He was in love with you."

Abby nodded and dropped her head back down, so she didn't see the silent exchange between siblings. The night before, Sarah had gently teased, but Rebecca could see the remnants of the broken heart he hid so well. Now the pain was no longer hidden as he watched her confession. "When we met it was on a case down in Norfolk, so it wasn't face to face. He was smart and funny and I liked working with him. I mean the team we had then was great, and I loved them all, but Tim understood the science and he got me. He got me." Abby thumped her chest as she explained their connection. "He was the one person I could ramble on about slug enzymes or using electrical fields to extract contaminated DNA and he would understand."

"So, you started dating?"

"He drove up from Norfolk a couple of times to help on some cases and we'd have lunch together, sometimes he'd stay over rather than driving back. It was fun, it was casual." Abby sniffed again and wiped her nose. "People would think we didn't have that much in common, I mean, look at us. We're at opposite ends of the spectrum, but it worked."

Sarah shifted around to see Abby better. "You wanted to keep it casual, and he wanted more, right?"

"Yes... no... deep down I wanted more, too, but I knew it wouldn't work, so I broke it off."

"Because you're a Goth, and he's too white bread for you?"

Rebecca's angry words made her wince, but Abby knew she was right. "I was so afraid that I was going to get trapped in his normal world and then to top it off, I found out his parents were going to be in town and he didn't say anything about it to me. I thought he was ashamed of me, that I wasn't good enough to be around his family." Abby looked over her shoulder at Tim before returning to plead her case to Rebecca. "I didn't know anything about your family, I never dreamed... I mean, Tim's so normal..."

With a sad fascination, Rebecca started to understand. "It must have been hard, being drawn to a man that represented everything you didn't want to become."

Abby was crying again. "I was okay with it until... until Ari shot Kate."

"Kate?" Rebecca looked up in time to see a fresh wave of pain cross Tim's face. It was heartbreaking to her just how much of her brother's life she had missed.

Tim filled in the blanks softly from the far side of the room. "Kate was a member of our team. She was killed by a sniper my first year on the team. I was his first target, then when he couldn't get me he went after Kate."

Rebecca went silent and pale at this casual mention of how dangerous her kid brother's life had become.

Not noticing the exchange, Abby continued. "I kept bouncing back and forth between wanting him back and scared of being trapped in suburbia. Being scared makes me angry, so then I'd do something stupid and mean to him."

"Then you'd feel guilty about the way you treated him and the cycle would start all over again." Rebecca shook her head. "Abby, this isn't healthy behavior."

"I know, and I'm so sorry Sarah got caught up in it."

"Abby, I want to know something, and I want a totally honest answer, so don't say anything right away." Sarah pulled away from her mother and sat ramrod straight, clutching her hands together. Abby realized how serious the question was going to be and also visibly pulled herself together.

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

"That night in the club, when you handed me over to Roger, what end of the pendulum were you at? Were you really wanting my bro... my uncle back, or had you already moved on to wanting to hurt him?"

---NCIS---

Gibbs leaned back in his chair, not liking what he had to do next. "Phillip McGee has been tracking Becky all these years. He flew into DC last night because he knew she was here."

"What?" His hand trembled as he rubbed his mouth. "Are you saying he's been stalking my wife since she was a teenager?"

"It looks that way."

"But why? I mean, God knows, he didn't want her around anymore. Hell, he transferred to a different base just days after he sent Becky away. He came back often enough to make sure my father wasn't going to get brave and report him to children services, but he never spoke to Becky."

Gibbs studied his coffee for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I think he wanted to see her fail. He was so obsessed with always being right that he needed to see her fall apart without him."

"But she didn't fall apart. I mean, sure she was a mess when she first came to live with us, but she was mourning our dead child. We both were, but then we built ourselves a new life." Being a doctor who traveled the world, from one crisis zone to another gave Richard an understanding of stressed and angry individuals. "It probably made him furious to see us stay together, and fulfill our dreams without his help."

Gibbs gave a snort. "Without a doubt, it pissed him off."

"And Tim and Sarah bore the brunt of it." Richard finished what Gibbs didn't say.

"Well, Tim did. He made protecting Sarah an art form." Gibbs looked pensive as he thought about it, wondering how much of the timidness he'd seen in the young man those first few years was a result of his upbringing and how much was a conditioned reaction to a potentially abusive authority figure. He hoped it was the former and not the latter. The possibility that he ever reminded the young man of his father turned Gibbs' stomach.

Before Gibbs could voice his concerns, pounding feet could be heard coming towards the conference room. Tony burst through the door, not embarrassed at all about interrupting. "Metro just called. The prison transport crashed and Roger Harris escaped."

"What?" Gibbs was instantly on his feet, Richard only a step behind him. Vance was entering MTAC and held the door open for them, ignoring the fact that they had a civilian with them. "What do we know so far?"

Ziva was leaning over one of the techs, watching the screen he was monitoring. "It happened less than a mile from I-395. Two guards and one prisoner were killed when the van rolled over. The third guard is missing and presumed to be a hostage. One of the escapees has already been picked up just west of Bailey's Crossroads."

"Let's hope that all of them were headed south, then." Tony was staring at the map up on the main screen as Gibbs and Richard joined him. "The quickest way out of the Metro area from where they overpowered the guards would be south on the I-395."

Director Vance was already on the phone with the state authorities in the area. Covering the mouthpiece, he turned to assure Richard Harper that everything was under control. "Virginia State Troopers are setting up road blocks right now. With any luck, all of the escapees will be back in custody within the hour."

Richard might have been listening to Vance, but he was watching Gibbs, who looked anything but convinced. "What is it?"

Instead of answering right away, Gibbs turned to Ziva. "Check every crime, every disturbance within ten miles of the accident site."

Needing an answer, Richard repeated himself. "What is it?"

"My gut is telling me that this is too easy. Something's not adding up right."

---NCIS---

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

The elderly woman looked up from tending the small containers she had on her patio. It was still too cold to have the plants outside continuously, but every morning she took them out for an hour to harden them up and prepare them to transplant in the early Spring. It was the reason she had a ground floor apartment, even if her children worried about her safety. The sun was in back of her visitor, but she could see enough of him to tell that he was wearing a uniform and carried a clipboard. "Yes, can I help you, officer?"

The uniformed man smiled. "I need to have Agent McGee sign some papers for a case we worked last week, but his agency forgot to tell me which apartment is his."

"Well, what do you expect of bureaucrats?" She held her hand out and the officer helped her to her feet. "Agent McGee moved a few months ago, so they probably would have given you the wrong address if they'd remembered to tell you."

"He and his sister are no longer here?"

"Oh, no, they're still here. He just moved into a larger apartment. I was so glad; I feel so much safer with an armed agent in the complex, even if his dog likes to bark at Tiger, don't you agree?"

He looked at the ancient feline sleeping on a pillow by the door. "Absolutely, now the apartment number?"

"Of course. He's over there, in Building C. The apartment number would be..." She closed her eyes as she started counting. She knew the lay-out of the building and she knew which apartment housed the McGee's, "number fourteen. That should be it. He's on the third floor, and it's the apartment to the right of the stairs."

"Thank you, ma'am." He briskly moved in the direction she had pointed. She watched until he moved out of view, past the large holly bush, before turning her attention to the cat. "That poor fellow must not be married, Tiger. No self-respecting wife would let her husband go to work in pants that ill-fitting. Now, how did he know Agent McGee's sister moved in with him?" She looked down at her watch. "It's time for my show to start. Come along, Tiger, I'll get you a nice saucer of cream."

---NCIS---

Abby forced herself to stay calm, looking up at the ceiling as she blinked back more tears. "When I first asked you to go with me to the club, I had this fantasy that if you and Roger hit it off, then the four of us could double date. If we did that, then I could get Tim to fall back in love with me." She heard both the groan from Tim, and the sound of disapproval from Rebecca, but pressed on.

"The real truth is that I panicked the second I introduced you. That's why I hid in the bathroom. I had this vision of me as a soccer mom, baking cupcakes and I ran. I never dreamed he would hurt you." Abby turned her attention to Rebecca. "Believe me, if I had thought he was capable of that, I wouldn't have let him near Sarah." Abby dropped her head down as she made her last confession. "I didn't hit the mad stage until later. I... I convinced myself that everything was fine and that we were going to have that double date. I even bought four tickets to a concert Roger and I wanted to go to." Abby's words trailed off as she paled. "That was Roger's idea. He knew what he'd done, but he still talked about how much fun he had and..."

Sarah sobbed, stopping Abby cold as she realized what she had said to the young woman still recovering from Roger's brutality.

"I'm sorry, that was... insensitive. It's still hard to understand sometimes how much I let him influence me. I'm trying be more aware of when I'm being influenced or when my reactions are... inappropriate, but it's hard. I didn't want to see how... far... I was willing to go to be the center of attention."

Rebecca was rubbing Sarah's back as she watched Abby struggle to put her feelings into words. Her phrasing gave Rebecca a clue as to just how Abby was trying to be more aware. "Abby, I have a question, but this time, I'm not going to insist that you answer, because it's very personal, and I will understand if you're not comfortable with talking to a complete stranger."

Wide-eyed, Abby sat up straight and waited for the question.

"From some of the things you've said about yourself, I'm guessing that you are in therapy. Is that true?" Abby nodded after only the slightest hesitation, so Rebecca continued. "Because of what happened?" A second nod. "Are you being forced to go?"

This time there was a nod, then a shake with a shoulder shrug thrown in for good measure before Abby started talking. The fact that it took so long before she could speak, told Tim that she was serious, and he moved closer to watch her expression as she talked.

"At first I was mad because the Director told me it was mandatory and I'd be suspended if I missed even one session. I spent the first appointment ranting about everyone and everything. I was so busy being mad, that I even forgot the session was being taped. The next week, my therapist made me listen to some recording. I told her how childish and selfish the people on her tapes were, and that she should concentrate on fixing them and not me."

"And..." Rebecca wasn't an impatient woman normally, but she was near the end of her rope.

Abby's voice was so low, the others had a hard time hearing her. "It was me. My therapist had other people record what I had said, so I could hear it in other voices and really listen. I didn't like it. I didn't like what I've been becoming, so now I go every week no matter what."

---NCIS---

"Jeffries, talk to me." Gibbs had one of the technicians tie his phone into the speakers so they could all hear the Metro detective.

_I'm at the scene of the accident with the jail administrator, Gibbs. The dead prisoner isn't a prisoner, he's one of the guards._

"Damn it! You're telling me that one of the escaped prisoners is dressed as a guard? Which one?"

_Looking at their rap sheets, there's only one of them with the brains to pull this off._

"Harris."

_Harris._

"Gibbs, a car was stolen from a parking lot only a mile from the accident." Interrupting them, Ziva looked up from the BOLO's she was reading. "It has a Lojack device on it."

"Has it been located?" Vance raised his voice enough to be heard both in MTAC and over the speaker phone.

Ziva was hurriedly skimming the report before she looked up, a horrified expression on her face. "Silver Spring, the car is only blocks from McGee's apartment."

Tony already had his cell to his ear. "Come on, come on, pick up the phone, McGee." Gibbs didn't have to order his team to gear up, they almost beat him to the parking garage. Tony and Ziva were in one car, with Ziva driving and Richard jumped in the other car with Gibbs.

"That's my family out there, I'm going with you, end of discussion."


	23. Chapter 23

**a/n - One more chapter after this one, thanks for sticking around.**

Rebecca pulled Sarah close again, stroking her hair as they both watched Abby shift nervously on the chair. Behind Abby, she could see her brother, his face haunted and pinched from hearing how the woman he'd spent years silently loving had been unable to see past their surfaces to admit her own feelings. Perhaps it was selfishness on her part, but Becky wanted her baby brother to find someone who wouldn't be ashamed or embarrassed about loving him. Sarah shifted before hugging her and pulling away.

"Abby..." Sarah straightened up and gave a sad smile. "I'm really glad you're seeing someone to help you with this, but..."

"It's too little, too late. I understand, Sarah." Abby started twisting her ring as she stared at her hand.

"I don't hate you, Abby, not any more. I did at first. I hated you for being part of this and I hated you for being Agent Gibbs' favorite." Behind them Tim looked up, startled, as Sarah continued. "Tim devoted himself to taking care of me after I was raped. I was such a mess, I even made him stand outside the bathroom with his gun when I took a shower. He'd sit up all night, telling me stories so I could sleep. I leaned on him so much, especially at first and he had no one to support him. He never came right out and said it, but he couldn't go to Agent Gibbs for help because he was afraid he'd take your side, that protecting you would be more important to Gibbs than helping Tim. He was so alone and I hated you for that."

Rebecca was silently crying as she heard more fragments of her family's torment, and Sarah reached over and wiped the tears from her mother's face before returning her attention to Abby, remembering what she had learned in her own therapy sessions. "I can forgive you because I've moved past the hate. What you did, you did because of your own insecurities, and that makes me sad. It makes me sad, because you and Tim could have had something really special. It makes me sad because when I thought about the two of you in the future, I saw you as the cool mom all the other kids are jealous of. Showing up at the soccer games in a hot rod with awesome snacks the kids really want, not some dorky vanilla cupcakes with candy sprinkles."

Sarah shifted her attention to Tim, still in the background, his own eyes bright with unshed tears. "Tim may be my uncle now, but in my heart he's always going to be my big brother. I want him to find someone who really understands what a wonderful person he is and isn't afraid of showing him that." She looked back at Abby and shook her head, her voice soft with sorrow. "You're not that person, Abby. I'm not sure that you ever can be. I believe you can work with Tim and maybe, in time, can become a friend to him again, but I hope that he finds someone that will cherish him because he deserves it."

Abby pursed her lips together and gave a jerky nod. Sensing it was the right time, Tim finally joined them, choosing to squat down next to Abby's chair rather than take his own seat. "This has changed us all, Abby. We were very lucky because some good managed to come out of the bad. We're moving forward because dwelling on the past will destroy us. Someday you and I will start over and be friends again, but Sarah is right. I deserve somebody that will cherish me, just the way I am and I'm going to find her. When that happens, I hope you'll be happy for me."

Her laughter was mixed with tears. "It sounds like Sarah and I weren't the only one seeing a therapist."

"Yeah." Tim gave that soft half-smile that had made Abby fall in love with him in the first place. "Well, let's just say that we got a family discount. Why don't I drive you home and we can talk some more on the way." He leaned over to whisper in her ear as he stood. "I know that was hard, thank you."

Abby stood, not quite knowing how to say goodbye. The wild hugs she was known for didn't quite seem appropriate any more. Sarah solved her dilemma by standing and grasping Abby's hands. "Someday, Abby, I hope you find what you're looking for and I hope you have the strength to hold onto it."

"Thank you." Abby gave a gentle squeeze in return. "Thank you for everything."

As they said their goodbyes, Tim slipped into his shoes and took his sidearm out of the lockbox on the shelf. Rebecca watched as her baby brother armed himself. "You're off duty, Tim. Is that really necessary?"

"I'm a federal agent, sis. We carry portal to portal at all times." He slipped his coat on and walked to the door, Abby a few steps behind him. Just as he turned the knob his phone rang, the ringtone lost in the sound of the door exploding inward. The edge of the metal security door hit Tim directly in the face, dropping him instantly. Before any of the three women could react, the uniformed man reached down and lifted Tim by the front of his shirt with one hand and punched him hard with the other. Now completely unconscious, his head bounced on the floor when he was dropped. Multiple voices cried out.

"Shut up, all of you." As soon as he let go of Tim, he pulled a gun and had it pointed at Rebecca and Sarah. Abby landed on her knees next to Tim before looking up at their attacker.

"Roger?"

"Well, Abby-girl, I wasn't expecting to find you here, too. That just makes it better, after all you told me that Sarah was the perfect woman."

"You're not going to hurt her again."

He laughed at Abby. "Who's going to stop me? You? I don't think so."

Standing near the sofa, Rebecca held onto Sarah and watched Tim's still form. The blows to his face had caused significant bleeding, but he was flat on his back and she could tell by the changes in his breathing that the blood was pooling in his throat. "Abby, roll Tim onto his side. He's going to drown in his own blood."

Abby looked up and into the barrel of the gun now pointed at her, but didn't say a word as she rolled Tim onto his side, biting back a sob at the amount of blood that came out of his mouth and nose. Rebecca gave her further instructions and she tilted his head further and adjusted his jaw to aid his breathing. She flinched when Roger cocked the gun, but continued to care for Tim.

"What do you know, my little Abby-girl is trying to grow a backbone." Roger saw Rebecca move and swung the gun back over to point it at her and Sarah. "Don't tell me, let me guess. This is Mom?"

"You're not touching my daughter again. You'll have to get through me first." Rebecca pulled Sarah in back of her, lifting her chin defiantly at the man holding a gun on her.

"With pleasure, Mama. I've always wanted to do a mother daughter combo." Laughing again, he palmed his groin. "Gonna show what a real man's like, ladies."

"Why?" Abby was more mad than scared. "You could have any woman you wanted, why do you hurt them? Why did you use me to get to them?" Down the hallway, Jethro could be heard whining and scratching at the door.

"It's not the sex that drives a rapist, Abby, it's the control. He controls the women he rapes, he controlled you by tricking you into choosing his victims." Rebecca saw the bulge of Tim's weapon under his coat and saw Abby's hand creeping closer to it. She moved closer to Roger, keeping his attention on herself. "Do you really think you're man enough to control all three of us at the same time?"

"Abby-girl won't stop me. I control her most of all. I'll make her watch while I do you and then your little girl."

"No, I'm not going to let that happen." Abby stood with Tim's gun held tightly in both hands. "I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else, Roger."

He smiled at her. "You're not going to shoot me, you don't have it in you. Mama's right, I control you little girl." Still smiling, he reached for Rebecca, who was still keeping herself physically between him and Sarah.

"Not any more, you don't."

---NCIS---

The agency sedan jumped the curb as it came to a screeching halt, tearing up the grass as it did so. Gibbs was out the door, barely taking time to throw it into park. The second sedan was in a similar position less than ten feet away. The three agents ran to the apartment stairs, guns drawn as the civilian with them stayed close behind. The sirens on the Metro cars could be heard, but they were blocks behind.

With Gibbs in the lead, they took the stairs two at a time, increasing their speed as they heard one gunshot, then two more. Training overtook instinct as they approached the broken door. Gun first, Gibbs eased through the door, identifying himself as he did. Inside, McGee was on his side, a pool of blood surrounding his head. Abby was standing next to him, a SIG Sauer still in her hands. The uniformed body of Roger Harris was sprawled between them and the other two occupants of the room. His eyes were wide open, and two gunshot wounds were visible on his chest. The guard's stolen Beretta was still in his hand.

As Ziva and Richard tended to Tim, Tony bent down to check Roger. "He's dead, Boss."

Jeffries and Thompson came through the door while Gibbs gave Tony the barest of acknowledgments before he eased the gun out of Abby's hand. Her eyes never left the body. "He was going to hurt them Gibbs. He was laughing that I was just going to stand here and watch him rape both of them. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't. I shot his leg, but it didn't stop him. He turned towards me with the gun, and then he pointed it at Timmy. I had to shoot him, Gibbs, I had to."

"I know, Abby."

Behind Gibbs, Richard monitored Tim's breathing as he watched his wife and daughter come closer. The two women stopped in front of Abby and engulfed her in their arms.

"Thank you."

"You saved us."

Gibbs handed the gun off to Tony as he holstered his own weapon. Still clinging to each other, the three women moved to Tim's side. Rebecca leaned on her training as a nurse rather than let her panic take over. "Status?" Behind them, the rest of the team listened in as Richard listed off his brother-in-law's injuries as he hugged Sarah, then Rebecca.

"Probable concussion and some scalp lacerations that will need stitches. Pretty nasty split lip and broken nose. Luckily he was on his side, Becky and I had a patient last year that died of minor injuries because his throat filled with blood."

Sarah and Abby again clung to each other as Rebecca told her husband and the team how Tim had ended up on his side and the events leading up to Abby shooting Roger. Jeffries and Thompson stood quietly next to Tony as they all listened. When Rebecca was finished, Abby turned to Jeffries. "I guess this time you do get to arrest me."

Jeffries could see Gibbs gearing up for a fight, but beat him to the punch. "This is about as clear cut self-defense as I've ever seen. Metro will handle the case so there's no suggestion of impropriety, but I wouldn't worry. An armed, escaped felon, breaking in, attacking a federal agent, threatening hostages with a gun, there's not a DA in the world who would see it as anything other than justified."

As Jeffries eased Abby's worries, Sarah moved away from her and approached the body of Roger Harris. Tony was still close and she turned to him for confirmation. "He's dead, right? I mean, dead-dead."

"As dead as they come." He watched as she continued to stare at the man who had caused so much pain.

"Good." Without warning, she kicked the body hard. "That's for what you did to Tim."

Tony moved to grab her, but Gibbs shook his head. She kicked again. "That's for what you did to Abby, and this is for what you did to me." The third kick was hard enough that she lost her balance and would have fallen, but her father was there to catch her.

"I've got you sweetheart."

"Daddy..." Sarah clung to her father as she sobbed.

---NCIS---

For once NCIS was happy to eventually turn the crime scene over to Metro, allowing the team to decamp to the waiting room at Bethesda. Sarah had succumbed to exhaustion and was asleep, her head in her mother's lap. Abby was dozing against Tony while Ziva paced. Gibbs leaned against the wall, grateful to have found a cup of coffee as they all waited for Richard to come out. By the time the ambulance and two cars had arrived at the emergency entrance, Vance had smoothed the way for Dr. Harper to scrub in with the doctors on call.

When Richard finally emerged, he was immediately surrounded and held his hand up for quiet. "He's going to be fine. It looked a lot worse than it was because of the bleeding. A small artery was damaged when the cartilage in his nose broke. Between that, the gash on the inside of his mouth and the scalp wounds, he lost enough blood to need a transfusion, which he's having."

"Is he awake?"

"Not at the moment, Agent DiNozzo. He's been drifting in and out, but the painkillers should keep him under until morning. I think the best thing we can do is get some rest ourselves tonight." He had to raise his voice to be heard over the protests. "He won't know if anyone's here tonight, but he will appreciate visitors tomorrow."

Gibbs made the decision for the group. "Ziva, drive the Harper's to my place. Jethro's already there, and they can stay there tonight." Tony knew exactly what Gibbs' plans were and stepped in.

"Abby is coming home with me to have a movie night. Ziva, you bring the pizza after you drop them off and we'll bring you coffee in the morning, Boss."

The doctor in him knew that it was unnecessary for Gibbs to stay all night, but the father in him was glad the other man was being stubborn. That way he and Becky could focus on Sarah.

In spite of the plans, it was still another two hours before Gibbs was alone with his young agent. McGee was heavily sedated as Richard Harper had said, but even in his medicated slumber, Tim was tense and restless. A gentle hand on his arm seemed to settle him, but not relax him.

It was almost midnight when the nightmare started. Not fully able to break free of the drug induced sleep, Tim thrashed weakly as he whimpered. Gibbs leaned closer, struggling to make out the words.

"...sorry, Dad... don't... mad... try harder... better..."

"It's all right, son." Gibbs leaned even closer, bringing his mouth close to Tim's ear. "You did fine, you've always done fine."


	24. Chapter 24

**a/n - Well, here it is - the final chapter. My thanks to all of you for sticking through this with me. I'll return to posting chapters of Buried in the Past shortly, and have some more in the words. My muse is on overdrive, so let's see if my fingers can keep up. Will there be a sequel? I've certainly got something to work with, but it's not on my radar at the moment. Thanks for your wonderful comments, they mean the world.**

Not even when his platoon invaded the day before deployment, did Gibbs find his house so full. Somewhere along the way, a television had arrived, demoting his old one to the basement, and sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses littered his den, as the team moved in for the duration. Tim had been released from the hospital and immediately settled onto the sofa, while Gibbs had gladly turned his own bedroom over to the Harper's. It would be the last night of chaos, as McGee's apartment was finally cleaned and would be returned to him in the morning. All in all, it had been a long week since Harris' escape and Gibbs gladly retreated to the quiet of his basement workshop.

Light footsteps heralded a visitor before he even had the sandpaper folded. It wasn't the sound of Abby and the clunky boots she still favored, but softer and more tentative. Gibbs waited and soon Sarah McGee-Harper was perched on a stool, drawing patterns in the sawdust. He waited, knowing that she was like Tim and sometimes couldn't be rushed.

"I passed my last final yesterday, I have my degree." Gibbs was a little surprised as it was only half way through the term, but he waited. "My parents need to go back to Haiti soon, their team's been shorthanded since they left. They want me to go with them." She looked up and smiled at him. "One of the schools is being rebuilt and I'm going to help teach the children."

"Good for you." He had a pretty good idea what she was concerned about, but he waited.

"I guess... I guess I'm worried about Tim. We'll be back for Grandfather's trial, but until then he's going to be alone and I don't know what decision he's made about work and..." She paused, chewing her bottom lip.

"Sarah, he's going to be fine."

"You'll make sure?"

"I'll make sure. You have my word. Now, what about you? Are you excited about starting a new life with your real parents?"

"I am, I'm really excited."

Gibbs gave her a knowing look. "And scared?"

"Terrified." She laughed as she wiped away a tear. "Stupid, huh?"

"Not at all." Gibbs set down the sandpaper and turned to face her. "You've had a rough couple of months and now you're leaving with parents you've just met. It's okay to be scared." He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Do you remember when you had the flat tire?"

She took a shaky breath. "You came to my rescue, but this time I'm going to be so far away."

"Doesn't matter." With his thumb he wiped away another tear as it spilled onto her cheek. "You need me, you find a Marine unit and you tell them that you're Gunny Gibbs' little girl and that you need me. I'll be there, no matter what. Okay?"

"Okay." Sarah hugged him before retreating back upstairs.

---NCIS---

It was cold but clear the day the three Harper's left for Haiti. Tim drove them back to Norfolk to catch the military shuttle that was still delivering supplies to the earthquake ravaged country. Hugs and a few kisses were freely given as the family prepared to start their new life together. Tim stood on the tarmac as the three of them walked to the cargo plane, arm in arm, Sarah tucked between her parents. She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled one last time before boarding the plane.

Tim pulled his coat tighter as he watched the crew latch the doors and perform the final pre-flight check. The plane taxied out onto the runway and he could feel his chest tighten. "I'm alone, I'm really all alone."

---NCIS---

Gibbs thanked his ride as he arrived at the Norfolk Airfield. He watched the goodbyes and then caught Sarah's eye as she turned to wave one last time. Her smile widened when she saw him standing behind Tim. He had planned on waiting until McGee turned around, but then he heard the heartbreaking words and couldn't wait. "No, you're not." He reached out and grasped Tim's shoulders, giving them a slight squeeze as he pulled him close enough to whisper in his ear. "You're not alone, son, never alone."

The two men watched silently as the aircraft lifted off the ground and gently turned south, gaining altitude until was no longer visible. Eventually Gibbs clapped him on the back. "Let's get out of here."

Gibbs led him back to the agency sedan Vance had sent the family down in and took the keys from him. "I'll drive, you look at those files."

"Umm, Boss, what files?"

Grinning, Gibbs opened the glove box and pulled out a thumb drive. "Your laptop's in the trunk."

"In the trunk? How did it get... how do you know..." Sure enough, an agency laptop was in the otherwise empty trunk. McGee was sure it wasn't there when he and Richard had unloaded the luggage. Laughing as he booted the computer up, he relegated the question to the back of his mind, right alongside the delivery of the afternoon coffees and how Gibbs got the boat out of the basement.

The encryption of the files was easy, easy enough to make him suspicious, but McGee decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth as it kept his mind off the flight winging its way south. Before he knew it, they were pulling in at an Italian restaurant just south of the Navy Yard.

Once the salad plates were cleared off, Gibbs leaned forward, a serious expression on his face. "I understand that you're to give your decision to Vance in the morning."

Tim nodded, it was true. He'd had an extra few weeks to recover from the attack by Roger Harris, but Vance needed to know which team he wanted and which positions still needed to be filled. Gibbs interrupted him before he could tell him anything.

"I want you to promise me one thing, McGee." Tim nodded, hearing the seriousness in the older man's voice. "I want you to do what is best for you, not what other people expect of you."

He blinked in surprise. "Even if that doesn't mean your team?"

Gibbs gave him a sad nod. "Even if it doesn't mean my team, Tim. This time you do what is right for you. I'm proud of you, Tim. These last few months have shown that you're made of tougher stuff than most people give you credit for. You've more than earned the right to make decisions based on what you need, not what other people need from you."

"Thanks, Boss."

---NCIS---

Tim arrived at Headquarters at 0600 to meet with Director Vance before the Director had to be on the hill for budget hearings. Smiling, Abby joined him at the elevator. "Morning, McGee."

"Good morning, Abby. How are you, did you get the all clear?" Debriefings were standard after an agent was forced to shoot a suspect, but more complicated and time consuming when it was support staff that pulled the trigger.

Abby nodded. "I'm glad I don't have to do that very often. Now I understand why Gibbs gets so grumpy when he has to go."

"Hopefully, you'll never be in that situation again, but I am very grateful that you were with us that day." He reached out and squeezed her hand. "Thank you, again, Abby."

She didn't let go of his hand right away. "McGee, do you remember when you said that someday you and I will start over and be friends again?"

"Yeah, I remember."

Abby shifted her hand in his so that she could shake his hand. "Hi, I'm Abby. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi, Abby, I'm Tim. I'm glad to get to know you."

---NCIS---

Tony and Ziva came off the elevator arguing about which James Bond was the best. As they rounded the corner, they saw someone at McGee's old desk, unpacking a box. He straightened and turned.

"McGee!" Tony grabbed him in an excited hug, slapping his back. "Welcome back, man." Tony didn't release him, but he did stop bouncing Tim around long enough for Ziva to lean in and give him a peck on the cheek.

Over their shoulders, Tim looked across the way and shared a nod with Gibbs before Tony playfully started poking at what was left in the box. "Did you bring any cool toys up from cybercrimes?"

Gibbs smiled at their antics as he took a phone call. "Gear up, we've got a dead Petty Officer in Rock Creek Park."

"Some things never change, right Probie?"

Tim laughed and shook his head as Gibbs held out the keys. "McGee, gas the truck."

The one thing that did change was that Gibbs didn't toss the keys, McGee had to walk to him. Smiling broadly, Gibbs pulled him close. "Welcome home, son. Welcome home.


End file.
